3 Safety Tips To Teach Your Kids Before They Start Kindergarten
While you might love to always keep your children right by your side so that you can care for and protect them every day of their lives, this just isn’t a reality for most parents. At some point, your child is going to head off to school on their own and end up spending hours of the day apart from you. To help make this transition a little easier for both of you, it’s a good idea to do everything your power to prepare your child for this day, including giving them information about how to take care of themselves and keep themselves safe when you’re not around. To help you in doing this, here are three safety tips to teach your kids before they start kindergarten.
Introduce The Concept Of Tricky People
In previous generations, kids were taught about “stranger danger”. However, not all strangers are dangerous to your kids. For this reason, Lexi Walters Wright, a contributor to Understood.org, recommends introducing them to the concept of “trick people” instead. When talking to your kids about “tricky people”, explain that a tricky person is someone who might try to get your kids to do something that they don’t want to do or know that they shouldn’t do, like get into their car with them. If your child feels like they’re being approached by a “tricky person”, teach them to find an adult they can trust and ask for help. A trusted adult might be a police officer, a teacher, a family friend that they recognize, or a mom with children.
Be Smart When On The Playground
Many kids are much more willing to take physical risks than adults are. When parents are with their children, they can be there to encourage their kids to be careful or stop doing something that could put them in danger. But when your child’s play on their own, like the will be on the playground at school, it’s good for them to know how to be smart about protecting their bodies. According to the National Safety Council, 80 percent of playground injuries happen as a result of falling, so make sure you speak with your child about what playground equipment is going to be safe for them at their current age, size, and physical abilities.
Take Safety Plans Seriously
For big emergencies that take place at school, your school district and other leaders will have plans in place for how to respond and keep your kids safe. Ideally, drills should be run for these procedures so that everyone knows what to do if the real thing were ever to happen. And SafeHome.org shares that just like your family might practice what to do if your house were to catch on fire, you should encourage your kids to take these drills at school seriously so they can know what to do and who to listen to if something bad were ever to happen while they were on their school campus.
If you want to better prepare your kindergartener for being safe while at school without you, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can do just that.
