Reidsville, NC-- It's summer and some parents can't avoid leaving their mature or older children home alone at some point.
But, officers say to have a plan that you discuss with your child about safety should something happen.
A story out of Reidsville is reiterating the importance of making sure your children are safe when they are left alone.
Tuesday afternoon, a 13-year-old boy called his mother to tell her thieves had broken into their home. Two men and a woman forced themselves in and left with almost all the electronics in the home: two flat screen TVs, an XBOX gaming console, a Nintendo Wii gaming console, cell phone and jewelry.
Police say the boy ran into his parents room and hid and watched the whole thing .
"He saw them and made a run under the bed while they were in. Luckily they didn't look under the bed and see him," said Captain Billy Parker of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department.
Wednesday afternoon, the family was not available for an interview but a neighbor told News 2 the crime seems unusual.
"I've been living here for about 15 years and I haven't seen any break ins in this immediate area but it's getting closer and closer to home," said Steve Rakes.
No matter where you live, police want to remind you this is not just a dramatic crime story.
Some parents don't have a choice when it comes to leaving kids home alone. So what do you do? And how young is too young?
Captain Parker says the first thing is knowing if your child is mature enough to be left home alone. You have to make that choice as a parent based on what you feel your child can handle.
He says the most important plan of action to remember is to find a phone. For instance, if a suspicious car pulls into the driveway, your child should immediately run inside and grab the phone to call 911.
You can discuss different scenarios and even present options for places to hide. And remember, even if your child can't speak to the operator, police can find them.
Another important tip, according to Captain Parker, is to tell them to never tell people at the door their parents aren't home.
"Because they don't know if the parents are there or not," he said. "But you want them to think that. And most times they are not going to take a chance thinking there's an adult in the house and hopefully they'll go on."
Parker says it always comes back to telling the child to call 911 if they feel threatened.
Police are still looking for the thieves in the Reidsville break-in. They are looking for two white men and a woman in a blue four-door sedan with rusted wheels.
They say the woman was wearing hospital scrubs.
Anyone with information about this break-in is asked to call the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office at (336) 634-3232 or Rockingham County Crimestoppers at (336) 349-9683.
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WFMY News 2, Rockingham County Sheriff's Department