Keeping your kids safe is a priority for all parents. Safety impacts your child’s immediate well-being but prevents incidents that have the potential to cause trauma with long-term psychological effects. While there are various risks in the world, the best place to start is in your own home.
Of course, you don’t want to give your kids the impression that the whole home is host to a potential danger just waiting to jump out at them. Kid-friendly home safety is often best when it’s directed toward making certain they understand the risks and feel empowered to navigate them.
Injury Prevention and Response
The occasional accident is a normal part of a child’s life. Nevertheless, you’ll want to prevent as many as possible. Alongside implementing childproofing measures, one of your most important steps is to empower your kids to prevent and manage accidents themselves. Take them through places in the home where incidents may occur, including:
- The kitchen: Kitchens are often hubs of family activity. Unfortunately, they can also be host to dangers. Rather than simply stash risky objects out of the way, talk your kids through why you take these steps. Explain the problems with sharp knives and hot stovetops. As they grow, introduce them to safely using these objects.
- The yard: Outdoor areas tend to have injury hazards. Take the time to walk around the yard with your kids and explore what is problematic and why. Teach them to be on the lookout for debris — such as glass and broken toys — and to either alert an adult or safely dispose of these themselves. If you have a garden in your yard, discuss how to handle tools safely and responsibly.
Alongside highlighting injury hazards, it’s vital to empower them with knowledge of how to respond when injuries do occur. Give them some simple training on first aid procedures and hacks that minimize damage until they can get medical assistance. For instance, you can explain that a bag of frozen peas can reduce swelling from a sprain. Another trick they may want to know is that you can flush a wound with clean water before bandaging it with makeshift gauze from a piece of cloth. These lessons can give them confidence that they can manage even when an adult isn’t around.
Fire Safety
Fire is a challenge when discussing home safety with kids. After all, fires can be both fascinating and scary. Simply telling them to just stay away from fires doesn’t always help them or reassure them. Instead, take your kids to different areas of your home and discuss the problems fires cause and how they should respond.
In your garage
Discussing garage and home fire safety with kids is a vital point of preparation. There are often multiple fire hazards in any garage and these can also be relevant to other areas of your home. Consider showing your kids what components tend to lead to unwanted fires starting. This might include fuel sources, flammable objects — like stacked newspapers — and technology that might cause a spark.
Teach your children to be vigilant, including when they should alert an adult or if they know how to address the hazards themselves. Showing them the best exit routes if a fire starts in the garage is also vital for empowering them to be safe.
Around fireplaces
Some homes still have fireplaces, which can be great for coziness in the colder months. However, they also present hazards to kids. As early as possible, talk openly about why it’s dangerous to play around a fireplace. Encourage them to ask questions about the dangers of fireplaces, too, as this helps them feel more involved rather than being dictated to.
Natural Disasters
Sometimes, the causes of hazards in your home won’t be within your control. Natural disasters and weather emergencies can affect how safe you and your kids are. Particularly given that the onset of climate change is expected to result in more natural emergencies of greater intensity, it’s vital to give your kids the knowledge to keep them safe and confident in the home.
Some of the areas to focus on might include:
- Storms: Intense storms can be hazardous — not to mention scary — for kids. You can help protect them and help them feel more reassured by involving them in storm safeguards throughout your home. You can talk them through why repairing cracks in masonry and sealing window frames prevents further damage and leaks. It could even be fun to have them help you put up storm shutters prior to severe weather events. This can become a great lesson by explaining how these stop the windows from breaking, protecting them from accidents.
- Earthquakes: Again, involve your kids in regularly inspecting the inside of your home for earthquake hazards. Don’t just tell them that tall furniture not secured to walls can be problematic, but why. They might feel more capable and engaged if you teach them how to create and maintain a preparedness kit, including inviting them to perform measures such as testing flashlight batteries and inspecting the first aid kit. Conducting occasional earthquake drills where you point out safe places to hide — such as under tables or against an inside wall — in each room of your house is also invaluable.
You don’t necessarily need to teach your kids about every conceivable type of natural disaster. This may feel more frightening and confusing for them. Instead, focus on those that are most common in your area of the world.
Conclusion
Teaching your child about home safety in a kid-friendly way helps minimize incidents and improves their confidence. Wherever possible, don’t just lecture to them, but involve them in practical discussions and demonstrations. Remember that kids have different abilities to grasp these concepts at different ages. You know your child best, so make decisions about what’s likely to be understandable and practical for them.
Photo Credit
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
Guest Author Bio
Luke Smith
Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned blogger. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but business, technology, and digital marketing topics are his favorite. When he isn’t writing you can find him travelling, hiking, or getting into the latest tech.
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