Older children are usually fairly responsible when it comes to looking after their house keys when they are at school or during the weekend. If you are at work and cannot leave in order to let them in, then it can be something of a nightmare to receive an emergency call from your offspring asking for help because they have lost their keys. What should you do?
Things Not to Do
Don't keep a spare set of keys in the garden and tell your child where they can find them to let themselves in. Even the best hiding places that you might be able to think of are known to professional criminals. Besides, your child could easily be observed retrieving the spare set, which would compromise your hiding place.
Don't drop everything and rush home. Your child will never learn to be responsible for their own set of keys if they can rely on you to drop everything in cases of mild emergency. It will also earn you a bad reputation at work if you go home for something which is not truly urgent.
Don't tell your child off. They may have felt bad about calling you in the first place. Remember that they have done the right thing by admitting the problem. Make sure they are reassured that everything can be sorted out, and tell them to keep their phone switched on so you can contact them when you have made a plan.
Things to Do
Make sure your child is safe. If there is nowhere to sit safely in your garden, then suggest they make contact with a friend or a friend's parent who can look after them until the matter is sorted out.
Contact an emergency locksmith to gain access to your home. If the keys are not just mislaid but are truly lost, then you will need to change the locks anyway. A mobile locksmith will be able to provide a few sets of keys to any locks he or she needs to change. Once inside, you child should remain indoors until you get home, or you will be locked out too when you arrive.
Consider fitting a keyless entry system. Punch codes and fingerprint recognition systems are fitted by most locksmith companies nowadays. With such a locking mechanism on one of your doors, you don't have to worry about losing your keys ever again. Most keyless entry systems will allow you to change the code when wanted, as well.
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