One of the biggest responsibilities of any parent is to teach. Children rely on their families to teach them the difference between right and wrong and to teach them the basics of what they’ll need to live well. An important thing to teach kids from an early age, too, is safety.
Here are the things it is most important to teach young children, to reduce their risk of childhood injuries, and to help them build good habits that can keep them safer for a lifetime. You will want to teach your children:
- The importance of wearing a helmet properly when playing sports, skateboarding, or biking.
- How to properly use seat belts, car seats, and booster seats. Also, teach your children from a young age to call you if a driver is under the influence or is driving dangerously. Teach your child to never get in the car with a driver like that.
- To avoid playing with fireworks.
- How to swim and how to stay safe around water. Early childhood swimming classes can reinforce best practices, such as never swimming alone.
- To avoid playing with sharp objects and to avoid playing in the kitchen or around hot stoves or grills.
- How to use playground equipment correctly.
- Traffic signals and how to cross the street safely.
- The importance of a healthy diet and exercise. Also, the dangers of smoking, drinking, and second-hand smoke.
- To use sunscreen and long sleeves to lower the risk of skin cancer.
- To cook safely, which involves using kitchen tools and appliances responsibly.
- To bike safely, obeying all traffic signals.
- To never approach unfamiliar dogs or animals, to avoid dog bites.
- What different warning labels on products mean and why they should never open cleaning products or other chemicals.
- Fire safety, including the importance of never playing with matches. At least a few times a year, you’ll want to review your family fire drill and safety plan in case there’s ever a fire at your home.
- Electrical safety, including the importance of never playing with electrical outlets or electrical equipment or approaching downed power lines.
- Bullying, including how to get away from and how to report bulling.
- Their own phone number and address and how to call for emergency help in an emergency. This is also a good time to review what an emergency is.
- Internet safety, including the danger of sharing anything personal online.
- How to react if a stranger approaches them or they feel unconformable with someone’s behavior.
While teaching your children safety topics is important, there are also people in your child’s life that have an obligation to help keep your child safe. For example, schools and school programs are expected to take reasonable steps to make sure students aren’t at undue risk.
When another party is negligent and your child is injured, you may have a claim. To find out whether you may be able to pursue compensation after your child’s injury, call Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 or contact us online to schedule a free accident consultation with a child injury claims attorney.