1. Child Safety
by
Ken Stiles
Share your children's photos on the photo sharing site:
http://OurEnchantedChildren.com
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2. Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Safety In The Home.................................................................................................................3
Chapter 2: Providing A Safe And Secure Home For Your Child...............................................................4
Chapter 3: Teaching Responsibility...........................................................................................................5
Chapter 4: Protect Your Child's Emotional Well-being..............................................................................6
Chapter 5: How To Survive A Road Trip...................................................................................................8
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3. Chapter 1: Safety In The Home
When 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 and
installing outlet covers. However, many families don't think about household safety as
their 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 go
if you have to get out of the house quickly? Plan a location that is away from your
house that can be a meeting place for all family members. Make sure your children
understand the circumstances in which they would leave the house and wait at your
meeting place.
Do your children know what to do if there is a fire in your house? Most parents figure
that their children know to get out, but is it something that you have ever practiced? You
only have a few minutes when the fire breaks out before all the oxygen is gone from the
air and you need to have everyone out before then. Practice escape routes with your
children. If there is an emergency in the home, do your kids know who to call? Do they
know how to dial 9-1-1?
Can they tell their address to the operator on the phone? It is a good idea to have
emergency information posted above the phone in your house. Write down the
emergency numbers, and your address. Even adults have forgotten their address in a
crisis.
When you have an emergency, it is too late to plan. Make sure that you and your
children have a plan in place to protect your family in an emergency. Don't wait until it's
too late.
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4. Chapter 2: Providing A Safe And Secure Home For Your Child
Accidents in the home are the primary cause of death in U. S. children. By taking a few
simple precautions, these injuries can be avoided, making your home safe for your child
and 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 your
home and dishware with, and also keeps them from grabbing sharp objects like scissors
or 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 child's reach while
cooking.
Safety latches should be installed on cabinets and drawers in your bathrooms as well to
keep them out of unsafe household cleaning products and medicines. Be sure to unplug
any electrical appliance such as a blow dryer or curling iron directly after use and put
out of a child's reach. Teach them early that electricity and water do not mix and that no
electrical appliances of any kind should ever be immersed in or placed under running
water. Toilet locks should also be used in homes that have small children to keep lids
down. Young children are 'top heavy' and can easily fall into a toilet if they lean in to
play in it. Since a young child can drown in less than just an inch of water, it is
imperative to closely supervise them in the bathroom at all times.
Around your house, be sure to secure furniture such as bookshelves and heavy furniture
that could tip easily to the wall using brackets. Use doorknob covers to keep them out of
rooms 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 a
strangulation hazard to a young child. And always cover your electrical outlets with
protective covers to keep small fingers from them and small objects from being inserted
into them.
Check your house over carefully for other potential hazards and address them
immediately. With these precautions and some common sense, your household will be
your child's haven.
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5. Chapter 3: Teaching Responsibility
It is so important to teach your kids responsibility, but many parents fail in this area. I
watch parents that will not allow their children to do anything because they don't want to
deal with the mess, they feel their child will fail, or they don't want to take the time. Yet,
a responsible child needs these skills to be successful in school and to build a strong
sense of self.
There are many things you can do to teach your child responsibility. This is an
important part of parenting. We will briefly discuss a few ideas. Give your child chores
or things around the house that they must do. Start a small child out by having them
make their bed and put their toys away. Give older children jobs that must be done
every day, or every week. Giving them work to do around the house helps them belong
more to the family and the home. Find a pet that your child would like and help them
learn 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 that
decision. Make your child be responsible for the consequences of their actions. Allow
them to make choices for themselves. Understanding that there are rewards and
punishments for their actions helps to develop social skills they need.
As our children grow, we can continue to provide opportunities where our children can
learn and develop. Teaching responsibility now will help them make correct choices
later in life. This is such an important skill to learn, and one that is easy to teach if we
take the time.
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6. Chapter 4: Protect Your Child's Emotional Well-being
In our effort to balance very full and hectic lives with our families and our jobs, we may
have been neglecting an all-important facet of our child's life: their emotional well-
being. The first three years of a child's life is a critical time for a child, and the trauma
of changing child care providers or having a 'part-time' parent float in and out of their
life can be very traumatic and destabilizing for them. It's imperative that parents,
educators, involved adults and care providers make a concerted joint effort to ensure that
a child's emotional needs are met on a daily basis, just as their physical needs are. The
effects of not meeting a child's emotional needs, especially during the first three years of
life, can have devastating consequences. Violent, disruptive or defiant behaviors can
result.
The first three years of life are critical in a number of ways. This is when bonding and
emotional 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 relationships
later in life and hinder them in developing their own healthy relationships as adolescents
or adults.
During the first three years of life, the brain goes through its most rapid development
ever, the likes of which will never be experienced again. By the time they are three years
old, a child's brain is already 'hardwired' from the experiences they've had to that point.
It's imperative that these be loving, supportive, safe, positive experiences so the brain
will be conditioned to expect positive things. If they've been frightening, hurtful,
abusive, or dangerous, then the brain is conditioned to expect negative occurrences.
Therefore it's critical that parents, caregivers and other involved adults make a concerted
effort to make sure the child's emotional needs are met in a positive, constructive and
healthy manner. Parents should ensure that the child's care providers are stable and
consistent, and don't move them around to different childcare providers during this
important phase. Ensure a child feels safe and secure with structured and consistent
schedules and routines. Be sure to spend as much quality time with your child at this
time as possible, regardless of your otherwise busy and hectic lifestyle. A child can
sense that such a schedule is stressful to you and it can become a frightening or
confusing element for them. Therefore it's important to take time out to reassure them
that you're never too busy for them.
Remember that your child's emotional well-being is just as important as their physical,
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7. so do your part to ensure your child knows he's growing up safe, secure, treasured and
loved.
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8. Chapter 5: How To Survive A Road Trip
Traveling by car with children can be a lot of fun, or a lot of frustration. Proper
planning can make all the difference. Here are some tips to make your travel time a
success.
Print out a map showing the beginning and ending points, with larger cities marked. As
you drive, have your kids mark off the cities or other landmarks on the map. This helps
them see how far they have gone, how much farther you have to go, and teaches them
about time and distance. It's 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 games
you can play as a family. One of our favorites is to pick a topic, and then we rotate
through the family. If we say "ice cream", then each person tells of a story or something
they remember that involves ice cream. This is a great way to learn more about your
children, as well as tell them some new stories.
No road trip would be complete without snacks. Make a bag for each child with their
own snacks inside. They can pick and choose what they would like, giving them some
freedom and giving you a break. Let them know beforehand that the treats must last
through the whole trip so they won't eat them all at once. It's also fun to have some
other 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, but
finding some family games and activities can help you bond with your children more
and make the trip a better memory. If you have a DVD player in your car, don't rely on
it for all the entertainment. Using the tips discussed here can make your trip easier, and
bring you closer as a family.
Share your children's photos on the photo sharing site:
http://OurEnchantedChildren.com
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9. MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that the author of this book has an
affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services
mentioned in this book and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should
always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
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