Child Safety

Child Safety by Ken StilesShare your childrens photos on the photo sharing site: http://OurEnchantedChildren.com 1

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Safety In The Home.................................................................................................................3Chapter 2: Providing A Safe And Secure Home For Your Child...............................................................4Chapter 3: Teaching Responsibility...........................................................................................................5Chapter 4: Protect Your Childs Emotional Well-being..............................................................................6Chapter 5: How To Survive A Road Trip...................................................................................................8 2

Chapter 1: Safety In The HomeWhen we bring a new baby home, most families prepare their house for the new arrival.As the child grows, safety measures are put into place, like locking cabinets andinstalling outlet covers. However, many families dont think about household safety astheir kids get older. Here are some things to think about.Do you have an emergency plan in place for your children? Do they know where to goif you have to get out of the house quickly? Plan a location that is away from yourhouse that can be a meeting place for all family members. Make sure your childrenunderstand the circumstances in which they would leave the house and wait at yourmeeting place.Do your children know what to do if there is a fire in your house? Most parents figurethat their children know to get out, but is it something that you have ever practiced? Youonly have a few minutes when the fire breaks out before all the oxygen is gone from theair and you need to have everyone out before then. Practice escape routes with yourchildren. If there is an emergency in the home, do your kids know who to call? Do theyknow how to dial 9-1-1?Can they tell their address to the operator on the phone? It is a good idea to haveemergency information posted above the phone in your house. Write down theemergency numbers, and your address. Even adults have forgotten their address in acrisis.When you have an emergency, it is too late to plan. Make sure that you and yourchildren have a plan in place to protect your family in an emergency. Dont wait until itstoo late. 3

Chapter 2: Providing A Safe And Secure Home For Your ChildAccidents in the home are the primary cause of death in U. S. children. By taking a fewsimple precautions, these injuries can be avoided, making your home safe for your childand the children who visit it.In your kitchen, you should be sure to install safety latches on cabinets and drawers.This helps keep them out of the everyday household chemicals you use to clean yourhome and dishware with, and also keeps them from grabbing sharp objects like scissorsor knives from inside the drawers. Use the back burners when cooking on the stove top,and keep the handles of your pots and pans turned out of a curious childs reach whilecooking.Safety latches should be installed on cabinets and drawers in your bathrooms as well tokeep them out of unsafe household cleaning products and medicines. Be sure to unplugany electrical appliance such as a blow dryer or curling iron directly after use and putout of a childs reach. Teach them early that electricity and water do not mix and that noelectrical appliances of any kind should ever be immersed in or placed under runningwater. Toilet locks should also be used in homes that have small children to keep lidsdown. Young children are top heavy and can easily fall into a toilet if they lean in toplay in it. Since a young child can drown in less than just an inch of water, it isimperative to closely supervise them in the bathroom at all times.Around your house, be sure to secure furniture such as bookshelves and heavy furniturethat could tip easily to the wall using brackets. Use doorknob covers to keep them out ofrooms with potential hazards and to keep them from leaving the house unsupervised.Make sure your window blinds do not have looped cords on them as they can present astrangulation hazard to a young child. And always cover your electrical outlets withprotective covers to keep small fingers from them and small objects from being insertedinto them.Check your house over carefully for other potential hazards and address themimmediately. With these precautions and some common sense, your household will beyour childs haven. 4

Chapter 3: Teaching ResponsibilityIt is so important to teach your kids responsibility, but many parents fail in this area. Iwatch parents that will not allow their children to do anything because they dont want todeal with the mess, they feel their child will fail, or they dont want to take the time. Yet,a responsible child needs these skills to be successful in school and to build a strongsense of self.There are many things you can do to teach your child responsibility. This is animportant part of parenting. We will briefly discuss a few ideas. Give your child choresor things around the house that they must do. Start a small child out by having themmake their bed and put their toys away. Give older children jobs that must be doneevery day, or every week. Giving them work to do around the house helps them belongmore to the family and the home. Find a pet that your child would like and help themlearn to care for it. This teaches them to be responsible for another living thing.There are many different choices in pets and many pet stores will help you make thatdecision. Make your child be responsible for the consequences of their actions. Allowthem to make choices for themselves. Understanding that there are rewards andpunishments for their actions helps to develop social skills they need.As our children grow, we can continue to provide opportunities where our children canlearn and develop. Teaching responsibility now will help them make correct choiceslater in life. This is such an important skill to learn, and one that is easy to teach if wetake the time. 5

Chapter 4: Protect Your Childs Emotional Well-beingIn our effort to balance very full and hectic lives with our families and our jobs, we mayhave been neglecting an all-important facet of our childs life: their emotional well-being. The first three years of a childs life is a critical time for a child, and the traumaof changing child care providers or having a part-time parent float in and out of theirlife can be very traumatic and destabilizing for them. Its imperative that parents,educators, involved adults and care providers make a concerted joint effort to ensure thata childs emotional needs are met on a daily basis, just as their physical needs are. Theeffects of not meeting a childs emotional needs, especially during the first three years oflife, can have devastating consequences. Violent, disruptive or defiant behaviors canresult.The first three years of life are critical in a number of ways. This is when bonding andemotional separation takes place. If there are interruptions in either of these processes,misbehavior from the child can result. This can later have an affect on their relationshipslater in life and hinder them in developing their own healthy relationships as adolescentsor adults.During the first three years of life, the brain goes through its most rapid developmentever, the likes of which will never be experienced again. By the time they are three yearsold, a childs brain is already hardwired from the experiences theyve had to that point.Its imperative that these be loving, supportive, safe, positive experiences so the brainwill be conditioned to expect positive things. If theyve been frightening, hurtful,abusive, or dangerous, then the brain is conditioned to expect negative occurrences.Therefore its critical that parents, caregivers and other involved adults make a concertedeffort to make sure the childs emotional needs are met in a positive, constructive andhealthy manner. Parents should ensure that the childs care providers are stable andconsistent, and dont move them around to different childcare providers during thisimportant phase. Ensure a child feels safe and secure with structured and consistentschedules and routines. Be sure to spend as much quality time with your child at thistime as possible, regardless of your otherwise busy and hectic lifestyle. A child cansense that such a schedule is stressful to you and it can become a frightening orconfusing element for them. Therefore its important to take time out to reassure themthat youre never too busy for them.Remember that your childs emotional well-being is just as important as their physical, 6

so do your part to ensure your child knows hes growing up safe, secure, treasured andloved. 7

Chapter 5: How To Survive A Road TripTraveling by car with children can be a lot of fun, or a lot of frustration. Properplanning can make all the difference. Here are some tips to make your travel time asuccess.Print out a map showing the beginning and ending points, with larger cities marked. Asyou drive, have your kids mark off the cities or other landmarks on the map. This helpsthem see how far they have gone, how much farther you have to go, and teaches themabout time and distance. Its also great to squash the "how much longer" questions.Bring along games and books that they can play on their own, but also have some gamesyou can play as a family. One of our favorites is to pick a topic, and then we rotatethrough the family. If we say "ice cream", then each person tells of a story or somethingthey remember that involves ice cream. This is a great way to learn more about yourchildren, as well as tell them some new stories.No road trip would be complete without snacks. Make a bag for each child with theirown snacks inside. They can pick and choose what they would like, giving them somefreedom and giving you a break. Let them know beforehand that the treats must lastthrough the whole trip so they wont eat them all at once. Its also fun to have someother treats stashed away that you can pull out when the kids are restless.A DVD player can be an easy way to entertain the kids while you are driving, butfinding some family games and activities can help you bond with your children moreand make the trip a better memory. If you have a DVD player in your car, dont rely onit for all the entertainment. Using the tips discussed here can make your trip easier, andbring you closer as a family. Share your childrens photos on the photo sharing site: http://OurEnchantedChildren.com 8

MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that the author of this book has anaffiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and servicesmentioned in this book and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You shouldalways perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline. 9

Child Safety

by kennys86

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Child Safety Document Transcript