4 home automation ideas to keep kids safe

Automating certain features in your home can make life easier for you and safer for your kids, so they don't accidentally turn on the stove or open the door for a stranger. Here are a few projects to get you started.

• Adding automation to a home is a great way to make a house more convenient, safer, and even more eco-friendly.
• While many automated features will only be used by adults, there are some great ideas for automation to add to homes with kids to make them safer and more fun for the whole family.

If you're looking for some good ideas for ways to automate your home, check out the list below.

• If you have kids that wander around at night -- whether they go to their parents' bedroom or to the bathroom -- consider adding automatic hallway lights that turn on with motion sensors.
• Automatic hallway lights can be added close to the floor or at a low brightness level so they don't wake the rest of the house up, and they ensure kids don't run into things and hurt themselves in the dark.

• One great way to limit the time that kids can watch television is by installing a remote television timer that can be controlled by an app on the parent's smartphone or tablet.
• There are many apps and programs that allow parents to turn the television off from afar so kids can't watch more TV than they should even if they want to.

If you want to keep your house and kids safe, set up an automated security system at your front door that includes a camera.

• If someone rings the doorbell, the camera switches on and broadcasts to a screen, smart device or television in the house, and it allows the child to see if they know who is at the door or not.
• This is also a convenient device for adults and people who work at home to determine whether the guest is worth stopping work for.

Many appliances in the home can be dangerous for kids, like ovens and crock pots. If you have kids in your home, invest in automated appliances that can be controlled remotely on apps on your smart devices.

• Many of these apps have alerts when the appliance gets hot, and they allow you to turn off the appliance should a kid accidentally turn it on or forget to turn it off.
• Remote appliance controls also allow people to cook dinner via a crock pot when they're at work, or even to get the laundry done when they're not at home.

A child's home should be as safe as possible, and these are just a few of the methods to ensure your home is safe and convenient for your own kids.