KEEPING KIDS SAFE - MNHQ NEED YOUR TOP TIPS

[AbbyMumsnet]

Hi all, we need your words of wisdom re' keeping kids safe. The areas we want to cover are:

At home - safety gadgets, bath-time rules etc.

Road safety (pedestrian/cycling awareness etc)

Out and about with you (e.g. WWW's tip of writing your mobile number on your child's arm if you are out somewhere busy where they might get lost).

Out on their own - how do you discuss the topic of "stranger danger" without terrifying your child? Does your child have a mobile for emergencies? Etc etc.

Please, please add them here, as soon as poss!

Thanks.

A few days ago I was going to add a post about getting out of the car when we park it.

I've told my 8 year old to get out on the pavement side of the road and stay nearby on the pavement till I have finished unloading and locking the car.

However the message hadn't sunk as much as I hoped On Friday, as I gathered ds1's school things from the boot of the car, he was nearly run over. Our street is quiet and he had absent mindedly wandered into the road without looking properly. A car swept in front of him, missing him by inches. The driver stopped the car in shock.

So ds and I have had a serious talk about how IMPORTANT it is for him to stay on the pavement, even if the road is quiet.

I think this shows me how easy it is to get lulled into a false sense of security. ds1 is getting older and I trust him more, so I am not constantly watching him by roads - but this has shown me he needs a strong reminder on safety and I need to watch him more closely.

Whenever we are in a crowded place, or somewhere distracting like a museum, we go through our drill. At first we simply reiterated the rules to our children, from about 4y we do it as Q&A:

Q: What do you do if you can't see Mummy or Daddy?
A: Stand still and look around me.
Q: And if someone comes to you and says "Come with me, I'll take you to your Mummy (or Daddy)"?
A: I say "No, thank you. I'm waiting here for my Mummy. She's coming to me."

We never say "Don't go too far", or "Stay where I can't see you." After all, how can they know what is too far, or what I can see?! We always say "Make sure you can see me." If they go out of our sight, we call out "XX, can you see me?" and s/he usually comes running back around the corner "I can, now, Mummy!"

When out walking I give them a landmark showing how far they can run ahead (eg the red-leaved tree) and teach them to wait for me on the houses side of the pavement at street corners, rather than by the kerb.

My eldest is 7.

agree with Franny, it is important to teach them to question things, and not just do what they are told. (You have to make an exception for teachers at school though!)

Do role play with them
"What would you do if there was a fire?"
"What would you do if someone offered you a lift home?"

Tell them never to go out of public sight into someone's house or garden, unless it's been okayed by parents first.

Treat vitamin pills like medicine and keep them out of sight (was surprised when googling poisons to find out that one of the commonest ways children get poisoned with with adult vitamin tablets containing iron)

Don't assume that because you have got high chair harnesses etc that your children are safe and can be left alone.
I used to hardly ever fasten harnesses, and was consequently very vigilant.

Talk to them about things like not letting someone else touch their bottom.

Ask them what they did at school? Who did they talk to during break time? Don't just assume that because you are hearing nothing, that everything is OK.