We all want to live in a peaceful environment where we are not exposed to any danger and we also want our kids to enjoy growing up, but in order to achieve a good balance to these desires we need to consider giving our children a basic grounding in keeping safe from some of the dangers that they can be exposed to.
Be safe without being scared
The trick to educating your child about possible dangers is to try and tell them how to remain safe without actually scaring them, which can have a negative impact on their childhood development. Children need to understand that there are different safety rules that they need to abide by when a parent or carer is not around to guide them.
You need to consider your words and actions before you set about educating your child in basic personal safety and staying safe in the home environment. Raising awareness can also raise their level of anxiety but by practicing and talking about safety skills on a regular basis you can actually increase their levels of confidence and competence so that the child does not feel frightened or threatened.
Personal safety
You need to give your child a basic grounding in communicating with strangers or people that they hardly know at all, but the best approach would be to try and impress on them that most people that they will come into contact with are good, but they have to be made aware of trusting their instincts and not putting themselves in danger, which can be mostly avoided if you tell your children to be wary of giving any personal information and not to be afraid to speak up and challenge a situation that does not feel right to them. If they are in the house alone for even a brief amount of time, teach them about not answering the door to anyone they are not familiar with and have a plan that they can learn for contacting someone in an emergency.
Fire safety
You need to ensure that your child is fully aware of the dangers of fire and how to prevent it happening. Depending on their age, there are a number of basic safety rules that you can tell your children about and you can even download a number of different free safety guides from the United States Fire Administration official website, which aims to make learning about fire safety fun by using an activity book featuring some characters called Marty and Jett, who show your kids how to play safe and spot a potential fire situation.
The best advice would be to use a visual guide like the book mentioned, as well as going around the house as though it were a fun game with your child, and getting them to try and spot where you should have smoke alarms and also for example, to tell a grown up if they see some matches lying around. You can also work out a fire drill for evacuating in an emergency, and make it seem like fun when you try it out with them so they know what to do.
Teaching basic safety
There are probably three main age groups where you need to consider reviewing and updating your child’s basic safety knowledge. Little kids aged between 1-4 years can be taught basic safety information such as keeping away from a hot stove and not to go into a medicine cabinet. Bigger kids aged between 5-9 years will be taught some safety lessons at school and you can enhance their personal knowledge and confidence by not only covering personal and fire safety in the home but by also allowing them to take a small element of responsibility for younger siblings in the house, by alerting a parent of carer when there is a problem or even a potential medical emergency. Children aged between 10-14 years will obviously by now have a clear understanding of the dangers that they may face in the home but it is still highly important that you keep that level of communication and awareness ongoing, so that they are confident to deal with more adult challenges and emergencies.
Keeping the family safe and out of danger is a top priority for any parent, and continually updating your child’s knowledge and awareness will help you to achieve that goal.
Rachel Wallis works in the home building industry. She frequently blogs about her findings on home improvement sites. Click to learn more about monitored home security from SafeSoundFamily.com.
Be safe without being scared
The trick to educating your child about possible dangers is to try and tell them how to remain safe without actually scaring them, which can have a negative impact on their childhood development. Children need to understand that there are different safety rules that they need to abide by when a parent or carer is not around to guide them.
You need to consider your words and actions before you set about educating your child in basic personal safety and staying safe in the home environment. Raising awareness can also raise their level of anxiety but by practicing and talking about safety skills on a regular basis you can actually increase their levels of confidence and competence so that the child does not feel frightened or threatened.
Personal safety
You need to give your child a basic grounding in communicating with strangers or people that they hardly know at all, but the best approach would be to try and impress on them that most people that they will come into contact with are good, but they have to be made aware of trusting their instincts and not putting themselves in danger, which can be mostly avoided if you tell your children to be wary of giving any personal information and not to be afraid to speak up and challenge a situation that does not feel right to them. If they are in the house alone for even a brief amount of time, teach them about not answering the door to anyone they are not familiar with and have a plan that they can learn for contacting someone in an emergency.
Fire safety
You need to ensure that your child is fully aware of the dangers of fire and how to prevent it happening. Depending on their age, there are a number of basic safety rules that you can tell your children about and you can even download a number of different free safety guides from the United States Fire Administration official website, which aims to make learning about fire safety fun by using an activity book featuring some characters called Marty and Jett, who show your kids how to play safe and spot a potential fire situation.
The best advice would be to use a visual guide like the book mentioned, as well as going around the house as though it were a fun game with your child, and getting them to try and spot where you should have smoke alarms and also for example, to tell a grown up if they see some matches lying around. You can also work out a fire drill for evacuating in an emergency, and make it seem like fun when you try it out with them so they know what to do.
Teaching basic safety
There are probably three main age groups where you need to consider reviewing and updating your child’s basic safety knowledge. Little kids aged between 1-4 years can be taught basic safety information such as keeping away from a hot stove and not to go into a medicine cabinet. Bigger kids aged between 5-9 years will be taught some safety lessons at school and you can enhance their personal knowledge and confidence by not only covering personal and fire safety in the home but by also allowing them to take a small element of responsibility for younger siblings in the house, by alerting a parent of carer when there is a problem or even a potential medical emergency. Children aged between 10-14 years will obviously by now have a clear understanding of the dangers that they may face in the home but it is still highly important that you keep that level of communication and awareness ongoing, so that they are confident to deal with more adult challenges and emergencies.
Keeping the family safe and out of danger is a top priority for any parent, and continually updating your child’s knowledge and awareness will help you to achieve that goal.
Rachel Wallis works in the home building industry. She frequently blogs about her findings on home improvement sites. Click to learn more about monitored home security from SafeSoundFamily.com.
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