Every parent is concerned about their children's safety, and hence, they go beyond their way to keep them healthy and happy. Irrespective of how much they watch over their child, monitoring their every move is impossible. At a certain point in time, they are required to allow their child to socialize and enjoy the freedom to grow. Keeping this in mind, it is essential for parents to find a healthy balance of safety and freedom. This is where the concept of Personal Safety education comes into play. In order to have a balance, parents are required to implement safety rules and make their children aware of how to protect themselves in different situations.
We are now going to talk about personal safety tips that every child should know. Along with a few age-appropriate child safety tips, we will also discuss the ways by which parents can offer their children this learning experience.
Importance Of Teaching Personal Safety To Children
Personal safety is one of the most important topics that every parent should discuss with their child at an early stage. They need to prioritize talking about the safety and security measures so that they can provide them with a safe environment. While most parents are not so comfortable talking about it, such conversations are of great importance.
- It reduces the possibility of running into an unsafe scenario
- It expands their understanding of their own rights
- It demonstrates to them how to react in dangerous situations
- It builds self-confidence and resilience
- Reduces stress and offers peace of mind
Personal Safety Measures To Teach
Now that we understand the importance of personal safety education, let’s take a look at the measures that are required to be taught.
- Keep Doors And Windows Closed/Locked
The number one safety measure that you need to introduce to your child is to keep doors locked and secured all the time. A locked door will not only keep the intruders away but also provide a sense of security to the parents that their child is safe. Along with this, they should also be taught to open the door only for familiar faces.
- Not To Trust Or Accept Gifts From Strangers
When you are discussing the topic of personal safety with your child, it is vital to tell them not to take anything from a stranger. You must teach them how to interact with people who they don’t know. Your child must know how to politely refuse something offered to them even if the gift tempts them. Such a lesson will reduce the risk of kidnapping or other dangers.
- Memorize The Parent or Guardian's Contact Information
This is another tip that is worth teaching your child to stay safe. Even if you drop your child at school or pick them up in the afternoon, they might be stuck in situations where they need to contact someone for help. In such emergency cases, they need the contact details of their parents or guardian or someone they can contact. Hence, you must ask them to memorize the basic information like full name, phone number, address, etc.
- Staying Away From Dangerous Products
Apart from staying safe by locking the door, your child must be familiar with the products that are dangerous to them and how to stay away from such items. This might include medicine cabinets, knives, hazardous chemicals, etc. Ensuring that they are away from such products will significantly reduce the risks of accidents.
- Identify The Kind Of Touch & React Accordingly
With the rise in the number of sexual abuse cases among children, it's high time to teach them about the dangers and the ways to deal with them. They need to be aware of different kinds of touches so that they can react the right way. Here are different touches that you must teach your child about.
1. Safe Touch– This kind of touch is warm and supportive and is done out of care and love. Such a touch makes the receiver feel safe and secure. Safe contact is good and does not require an offensive reaction.
2. Confusing Touch– Unlike safe touch, this kind of touch makes the child feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and insecure. It offers the receiver with conflicting feelings and is most often bad. Hence, the receiver should pay attention to it and try to figure out the intention behind such a touch.
3. Unsafe Touch– This touch is completely not safe for the child or anyone. Such a touch hurts the receiver and makes them feel terrible. It might be manipulative, abusive, or frightening and is very clear to the receiver. In scenarios of unsafe touches, the receiver should scream for help and alert people nearby.
- Don’t Divulge Too Much Information On Social Media
This is yet another safety measure you must discuss with your child, especially in today’s digital age. The internet has now become a craze among children, and hence, it is highly used by criminals to bully, harass, or target kids and commit crimes. This is why it is of utmost importance that you introduce your child to the negative side of social media and the repercussions of sharing too much information over it.
- Teach Your Kid To Use Personal Safety Alarm & System
To ensure your child is safe even when you are not around, you must teach them to use a personal safety alarm and other devices. By doing so, they can make the right use of the devices and protect themselves, their home, and valuables in case of any unfortunate event.
Incredible Ways To Discuss Safety Measures With Your Child
Teaching personal safety measures should start early and continue until they grow up. However, the communication skills of the kid are limited, which requires parents to choose the right way to make them understand what they are saying. Here are some of the ways to discuss safety measures with your child.
1. Role-play
2. Set up the rules
3. Practice emergency procedures
4. Talk to them
5. Allow them to make mistakes and learn
6. Give them appropriate independence
The Bottom Line
Children need to be protected at all times. However, they lack the awareness or skills to protect themselves. This is why it is the responsibility of parents to safeguard their children by teaching them the right safety measures at an early age. We hope that this article will help you with that. However, it is essential to note that personal safety is not a one-time discussion and is required to be brought up again and again. It should be a part of your regular discussions and should be done for all ages.
