It’s said that most accidents happen in both the living room and the dining room. It’s obvious because there are a lot of hazards in the living room and the dining room, namely sharp corners of furniture, heavy furniture, toxic cleaning materials, knives, and fire hazard.
As your child grows, all you want is to protect him or her from all harm.
Your child is prone to accidents and injuries because children are small. They are difficult to keep an eye to especially in an area with large furniture.
Also, they are experienced in the world. They don’t know a lot about the world. They don’t know what’s safe and unsafe.
Sure enough, if they are influenced by their emotions, such as getting too excited or any other extreme emotions, they may run into danger mindlessly.
Besides, you don’t know what could hurt your child. It could be anything from toxic substances being in reach or tablecloths that they tend to pull when trying to get up.
There are three steps you can take to making your real property safer.
Educating your child.
One of the reasons why children are so vulnerable to danger and injury is because they are inexperienced. Children are curious people. The world is new to them, and they want to explore as much as possible.
The world excites them. Sometimes, the world excites them to the point where they mindlessly head to danger. Some example of this is having your child so excited that she/he runs fast enough to slip and hit one’s head. Another thing is when they see anything on their way, and they put it in their mouth. Lastly, some of them will see a toxic cleaning chemical. Imagine if they ingest it because they are curious about what it is, or if it’s food.
Bottom line is, children put themselves into danger all the time because they don’t know what to expect of the world. They don’t know what will harm them. They have no idea of the consequences they will receive once doing some of these activities.
Educating your child about the negative effects of doing something prevents them from “learning the lesson the hard way” or through the experience. It protects them about the irreversible consequence of sticking your finger in the power outlet, being reckless when going down the stairs and the like.
Most of the time, when they’re kids they tend to forget instructions. They tend to have short attention spans. That’s why when educating them about the dangers of something, be very clear and simple with your instructions. Repetition is key.
“Do not run in the living room.”
In that way, they’ll be aware of what’s safe, and what’s not.
Positive Reinforcement and Empowerment
If we want to encourage safe behaviors, like not running in the living room, not going near the stairs, and not climbing the cabinets, we have to practice positive reinforcement.
Through positive reinforcement, we encourage our kids to do the desired behavior by introducing rewards right after they perform that behavior. In that sense, if they crave the reward, they’ll likely repeat the behavior.
To make it work, praise the effort not the child. “Wow, good job not running in the living room.” A growth mindset is encouraged by doing so.
But what are examples of positive reinforcement for children?
Positive reinforcements include extra playtime, posting work in the wall as the place of honor, extra credit or bonus points in schoolwork, smiles, handshakes, high-fives, fist bumps, pats on the back, compliments, public praise, a homework-free night, increased recess time and so much more.
These are some of the things that you can do to encourage your kid to practice safety. It’s great for helping them remember your safety instructions, and to repeat the action of being cautious.
- Making your home’s environment optimal for safety
So you’re done with creating awareness towards your child about safety practices. You’ve also encouraged the practice of these behaviors through positive reinforcement. What’s left for you to do is to actually make your house safe for your child.
No matter how cautious your child is, if your house is filled with hazards, it’s likely that your child can come across these hazards and get injured.
You cannot fight the fact that your child is curious. However, that curiosity may lead your child into danger.
So baby proofs your condo or property. Put gates on your stairs, lock the bathrooms, secure your big heavy furniture, put fragile and toxic materials out of reach. Cover outlets, and get rid of anything that can choke or strangle your child, like cords and small toys. A safe environment means a safe baby,
