|
|
|
From the Desk of Bill Cirone...
March 26, 1999
Safety Instructions Should Be Age-appropriate
Concepts of trust and danger, which are virtually meaningless to a two-year-old, make perfect sense to older children. This means it is critical that parents adapt their safety instructions to what is developmentally appropriate to their child's age level. That way, the practices are more likely to have meaning and be followed.
For example, two-year-olds respond to rules. Parents shouldn't hesitate to express strong disapproval if a two-year-old wanders away at the mall. Though toddlers are too young to understand the potential danger, they're old enough to know that certain actions bring their parents' disapproval.
Two is also a good age for parents to begin demonstrating safe behavior. If there's a knock at the door, say to your child, "I'm not going to open the front door unless it's someone I know. And only Mommy or Daddy can open this door&emdash;that's one of the ways we stay safe."
This is a good age to plant the idea that some actions require permission. When neighbors invite your child to play in their yard or a friend offers a lollipop, tell your child to ask you first if it's okay.
Three-year-olds begin to understand the concept of trust. Parents can help by telling them exactly who they can turn to for specific kinds of assistance. Say, for example, that "Melody, the babysitter, can pick you up from day care, but no one else." Reinforce those messages by playing "what if…" games.
Four-year-olds are notorious risk takers, so it is a particularly important time to reinforce safety rules and step up supervision. Children at this age can begin to understand that not every person they meet is trustworthy.
At five, children start school and interact with many new people, including older children who could be intimidating. It is often the first time children see that some people are neither kind nor well-intentioned, and it's an important time for parents to reinforce positive perceptions of people.
By six, most children have begun to develop intuition and a healthy suspicion of others. This is the perfect time to encourage young people to trust their own instincts: if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. It's also the age at which children can begin to generalize. They can understand that if they shouldn't get into a stranger's car after school, the same would hold for getting into a stranger's car after camp, after a birthday party, or at any other time.
Using age-appropriate instructions helps make safety rules work.
© Santa Barbara County Education Office
<.shtml>