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Badge 3 of 7 · At Home Safety

The door and the phone

At Home Safety badge

Badge 3 of 7 · At Home Safety

Lesson 6 of 6 · Step 19 of 43 in the course

Watch, then decide. The next step only opens when you have it right.

Step 1 of 3

Step 1 of 3

The door — you do not open it

  • Not for anybody your parents did not tell you about.
  • You can answer through the door. That is not the same as opening it, and it beats silence — it tells somebody the house is not empty.
  • Never say you are alone. “My mom can’t come to the door right now” is the whole script.
  • Deliveries get left on the step. Every real delivery driver in the world is fine with this.

Watch, then answer this

What do you say through the door?

Step 2 of 3

When they keep knocking

  • If they keep knocking after you have answered, that is your signal.
  • Somebody who genuinely has business at your house stops when somebody answers.
  • Call your parent, and if you cannot get them, call your trusted neighbor.
  • A neighbor you know is still a no at the door. It is not rude — your parents made the rule, not you.

Watch, then answer this

He answered, and the knocking carried on. What does that tell him?

Step 3 of 3

The phone — never tell a caller you are alone

  • “My mom can’t come to the phone right now, can I take a message?” That sentence handles every call you will ever get.
  • Do not give your name, your address, or say when anybody will be home.
  • If somebody keeps asking questions, put the phone down. You do not have to be polite to somebody who is pushing.
  • Tell your parent about any call that felt odd, even if you cannot say why.

Watch, then answer this

The caller keeps asking when your mom will be back. What do you do?

That is this lesson.

You watched it, you made the call yourself, and you got it right. That is the whole lesson — nothing here was read to pass.

Now do it

Off the screen, before you leave this page

Watching is not the same as being able to do it. Stand up and work through these. Nothing here is marked and nothing is sent anywhere — the ticks are yours.

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Accessibility

Read what happens in each clip instead

Step 1 — Somebody at the door. A delivery on the camera, a phone in his hand, and a door handle he does not touch. The knocking carries on after he has answered.

Step 2 — After you have answered. Continuation of the door film: he has answered, and the knocking does not stop. He steps away from the door and calls his parent, then a named neighbor. The persistence is the whole lesson and must stay visible.

Step 3 — Can I take a message. A landline or a cell on speaker. An adult voice asking when his mom will be back. He gives the script, writes a message on a pad, and hangs up. Then he tells his parent about it later.

Every film on this page is narrated and carries a caption track, supplied as a sidecar and never burned into the picture.

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