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Imagine this, you are at the grocery store grabbing milk from the shelf and you turn back to your
child and see them running down the aisle because they spotted their favourite kind of cookies. Or you are walking down the street and your child spots a cute dog and bolts across the street to pet them.
In both situations your child is unknowingly putting themselves at risk.
For the sake of this blog post, let’s say in both situations you manage to catch up with your child and nothing bad happens to them. But it is still scary, and you want to prevent it from happening again.
Here are some tips:
Set expectations for the situations ahead of time. For example, before you leave the house to walk to the bus stop, talk to your child about how they will walk with you and how they will sit beside you on the bus. If you have time, practice!
Follow through on the boundaries and expectations you discussed. For example, if you tell your child that if they cannot keep their hat on at the park then park time will have to be over, make sure you follow through and go home if they take their hat off.
Explain why. Children learning “why” they must do a certain thing helps them develop an understanding on safety, risks and boundaries. For example, you might say “If you don’t wear your hat you might get sun burned or get sick because of the heat and I want to keep you safe and healthy.”
Be consistent. For example, if your child has to stay close to you at the grocery store once, have them stay close to you at the grocery store every time. It is also important to keep consistency between caregivers as well!
Supervise and position yourself to keep your child safe. For example, if there is a fence on one side of the park, and no fence on the other, perhaps you position yourself between your child and the street.
Set your child up for success. Pick a time of day when you are most likely to get the behaviour you need for a successful outing. Choose a park that is fully fenced or walk down a street with less distracting dogs.
Stay calm if something doesn’t go as planned. Yelling after your child will often cause the behaviour to escalate. Keep calm and get down to their level.
For more information about safety, communication and setting boundaries try our Parent Education Group: Setting Boundaries and Limits. Read more about the group and put your name on the Interest List for an upcoming session.
At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Early Childhood Development Subject Matter Experts work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support early childhood development. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. We have a variety of Child Development Activities available on our website, find them at norwoodcentre.com/child-development-activities. For short-term one-on-one coaching, please call us at 780-471-3737.
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