Safety-Asset 10

Children Need to Feel Safe Everywhere

For parents to invest in this empowerment asset they should understand how vitally important it is for their children to feel safe in every environment in which they spend time each day. Then parents should do everything possible to ensure their child’s safety in each of these environments.

Investment in this asset should start before your child is born. Mothers need to feel safe and secure in their lives from the start of their pregnancy. Research shows that the fetus experiences all the emotions of the mother and stressful experiences actually result in a different type of brain and nervous system development than calm, safe and secure experiences. Research also shows that children from safe and secure mothers actually show greater intelligence and emotional stability than those whose in-utero experiences are stressful.

Once blessed with the birth of a child, parents need to do all they can to communicate to the child that their world is safe and secure. This message comes through every interaction the parents have with and around their child. The way a child is held, put to bed, attended to, talk to and with and the way the environment is kept calm and secure all communicate to the child that they are safe and cared for. Child proofing the house, being sure to have safe and proven car seats, teaching siblings how to interact in gentle ways are other ways the message of safety across.

When a child becomes a toddler, parents need to be particularly vigilant because they can dash into traffic, leap from furniture or porches, knock over glasses or dishes, or swallow a small object at the blink of an eye. Parents should strive to develop new and creative childproofing strategies as their toddler figures out how to open doors with childproof latches or get out of gates on staircases. Often the pediatrician or childcare provider can be helpful with other suggestions to keep the toddler safe.

As a child gets older you need to start to talk to him/her about fears and learn what their fears are so you can do what you can to relief them and help the child become more comfortable with their feelings in general. Make sure the child knows that it is okay to express their fears and that everyone feels fear at one time or another. Also, in case of difficulty or getting lost, be sure your child knows his/her address and phone number as well as when and how to call 911.

It is also important to start teaching young children about personal boundaries and privacy, particularly when it comes to the parts of their body that are private. Make sure your child knows who should be allowed to them their private areas and always only with your child’s expressed permission. Teach them that it is important to tell a trusted adult immediately if anyone touches them in uncomfortable ways. Also, prepare the child for how to deal with strangers and give them a personal plan for handling unsafe situations.

As usual, this is only a start to keeping your child safe in all places. If you have questions, please call or email me. Always remember, prevention is best!