today – Simple Ways to Teach Kids About Personal Safety
All parents want their children to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life, without being at risk from the various dangers out in the world. However, as much as you may try to protect and shield them, personal safety is a vital issue that all children need to learn about, in order to grow up into independent and well-rounded adults that can approach life confidently.
Simple Ways to Teach Kids About Personal Safety
Talking about safety with children doesn’t have to be a scary or challenging task, despite the subject itself. Here are some simple ways you can introduce safety into the conversation.
Talk about difficult feelings
One of the most common reasons that children are more vulnerable to harm is that they will often lack the ability to express difficult or upsetting feelings in a safe and supported way.
Look for resources using games, books and TV shows that help you discuss feelings and emotions with your children, and encourage them to be open with you about both positive and negative feelings. By creating a safe and trusted environment to talk about anything uncomfortable, your children are more likely to flag up any potential dangers to you as they arise.
Teach them how to assert boundaries
Teaching your children about how to identify and assert their personal boundaries can be one of the most valuable tools you can give them to stay safe in the world, both with strangers and people that are familiar to them.
This is often something done most easily by modelling and showing them both your own boundaries, and respecting theirs. Encourage conversations about when you might want to say no to something, and make sure that when they demonstrate this with you, you do not dismiss or belittle it.
Another great way of encouraging boundary setting is by allowing children to choose from different options, for example, choosing how they may feel most comfortable greeting a family relative or a friend. This is both empowering, and a great way of showing them how their boundaries might change with different people.
Discuss strategies around strangers
Strangers are often the biggest source of anxieties for many parents, and you may have even looked up a list of convicted sex offenders in the UK if you’re very worried about your children.
However, by teaching children clear and understandable rules about how to engage with strangers in an age-appropriate way, you can help them navigate the world in a safe way. Giving them a clear set of rules to help guide their decisions will give them a greater set of confidence, and help you feel reassured about how your children relate to the world.
As part of your safety talks with your children, you should also take online safety into account. If you’re unsure about what to look out for yourself, it’s a good idea to do some research on parenting groups or seek advice from professionals on how to make the internet a safer space for your children.
Simple Ways to Teach Kids About Personal Safety is a featured post – you might also like my post on time management for kids