12 Essential Safety Rules for Kids At Home

Children are curious by nature and enjoy playing intuitively. They are always exploring different ways to play. Although it is important that parents encourage their kids to play and be creative, they also need to teach them what to do to remain safe.

The following are some of the basic safety tips that every child needs to know.

1. Contact Information

One of the things that your child has to know is basic contact information. It will prove extremely useful in times of an emergency. Teach your child his or her full name, your name home address, and nearby landmarks. If you have an older child, you must make sure that he or she knows your phone number. Practice the contact information often so that your children do not forget it.

2. Stay Away from Strangers

Another safety rule that you must teach your child at home is to stay away from strangers. No matter the circumstances, your child should not let themselves be led by a stranger. Even if someone says, “your dad or mum asked me to take you,” they must stay where they are. Teach your child a safe word so that they tell you immediately if they require your help.

3. Road Safety

Since children are most vulnerable to road accidents, you must teach your kids not to go near the road unsupervised. If they do cross the road, they must look right and left and only cross with an adult or older child by their side. 

4. Stay Where They Are If They Get Lost

To make sure that you can easily find your child in case he or she gets lost, you must tell them to stay where they are. Wandering aimlessly will do your child no good. Thus, your child should stay at the same place so that you can find them. Besides this, you can ask them to ask another parent with a child for help.

5. Avoid Sharing Personal Information Online

The next essential safety rule that your kids must learn is to never share personal information online. As kids start young on computers, online safety lessons are just as important. Let your children know that they should not give out their information regarding where they live, what school they attend, and the house phone number.

6. Stay Away from Dangerous Things

In addition to the above, your kids need to learn to stay away from dangerous things like knives, matches, and other dangerous items. Besides keeping these things out of their reach, your children must never go near dangerous objects.

7. Their Body Is Only Theirs

To ensure that your kids are safe, you must teach them about good touch and bad touch. Let your children know that they must report immediately if anyone other than their parent touches their body. This is an ongoing discussion that should not be taken lightly, considering the fact that there were 365,348 missing kids in 2020 alone. 

8. Not to Keep Secrets 

An essential safety rule that your kids must follow is not to keep any secrets. Kids are told to keep things their sibling or friend did a secret. As a parent, you need to make sure that everything is perfectly fine by asking them to reveal every secret to you.

9. Call 999 in Case of an Emergency

After learning about a 4-year old girl who saved her mother’s life by calling 999, you will want to teach your child to call 999 in case of an emergency. 

10. Ensure Gas Safety

Since carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely dangerous and gas safety cannot be overlooked, you must inquire about gas safety certificate costs and teach your child to stay away from gas appliances. 

11. Trust Their Instincts

In addition to the above, you also need to teach your kids to trust their instincts. It will encourage them to take action in case of an emergency.

12. Protect Their Skin

Lastly, you also have to teach your children to protect their skin. Whenever your kids head outside, they must wear sunscreen for skin protection.  

Takeaway

Teaching essential safety rules will ensure that parents and caregivers are able to protect their kids without having to be overly cautious, which helps with their development. As a caregiver, you have to build a safe and loving environment for your child. The essential safety rules mentioned in our post will help ensure that your kids are safe at home and outside.