The weather may be getting cooler, but this is a perfect time of year for smart lock sales to heat up. Kids are back at school, and while they are learning about reading, writing, and arithmetic, this is an ideal time for their parents and security dealers to learn about the security and convenience benefits of replacing existing locks with connected smart locks.
Why should parents of school-age children switch from a traditional lock to a smart lock? According to Erik Glassen, Senior Manager, Brand Marketing at Kwikset, “There are many convincing reasons why a smart lock is the best security option for parents during the school year, or really any time of year. The remote capabilities of smart locks give parents the ability to use their smart phone or tablet to control their lock and track who’s coming or going. Plus, a smart lock can serve as the centerpiece of a complete home security system, connecting devices like locks, lights, and cameras while giving parents greater peace of mind.”
Some of the specific advantages of smart locks for parents during the school year include:
Happy returns
This school year, especially with a pandemic on the wane, young students will be returning from school at different times of the day, and many to newly empty homes. Without smart locks, those kids would have to carry around keys which could be misplaced or lost. Or worse, they could fall into the wrong hands.
With smart locks, all the child needs to remember is a simple user code, and each member of the family can have their own code. Family members can enter the home with a few simple button pushes, and then can lock the door with just one. So kids are never left waiting on the front steps for a parent. And keys never need to be left in “hiding” places like under a vase or inside a fake rock.
Unforgettable security.
Even if a returning student or athlete forgets the code, smart locks are not limited to providing access control “in person” at the door. These connected locks can, in fact, be controlled by any Web-enabled device; so parents can use their smartphone to let their child into the house, and even lock the door after the child is safely inside.
Knowledge-able power.
With the notifications that smart locks can deliver, parents can get an automated message when the door is unlocked. If the smart lock is paired with a video camera or video doorbells, parents can upload a clip of their child safely entering the home.
Parents can realize that these same benefits apply when younger kids become teens or even young adults, and they start to enjoy the freedoms of their age and a less restricted world. Smart locks can “time/date stamp” a teenager or college-age child. In other words, parents can know exactly when their teen son or daughter arrives home, whether they met their midnight curfew, and (with a video cam) whether they arrived alone.
Kwikset’s Glassen concluded, “If security dealers do their homework about the seasonal benefits of smart locks, they can not only have a successful back-to-school season, but also potentially make smart locks a centerpiece of their home automation business all year long.”
