There are many things that we need to teach and demonstrate to our children as they grow up. One of the most important is safety. Part of a nurturing and loving parental relationship is keeping a child safe from harm, and as the child gets older, making sure they know how to keep themselves from harm, too. That means you will have to provide correction when they do something that is unsafe. Here are some ways that you can effectively talk about safety with your child.
Talk About The Behavior
When a child does something wrong, our first instinct is often to scold them. The important thing is separating the behavior from the child. Talk about the act, and the possible repercussions, but do not describe the child as “naughty” or a “bad listener”.
Speak, But Also Listen
While you certainly want to provide information, you also should make sure that you are listening to the point of view of the child. If they are old enough, get some feedback about why they did what they did, and do your best to get to the cause of the actions.
Stay Positive
The focus of any conversation about safety should be on teaching, not on disciplining. If your child does something unsafe, like runs into the road, only raise your voice if there is an emergency and you need them to move quickly. Otherwise, remove them from the dangerous situation, and talk about what they can do next time to be safer.
Find A Cause
If your child does something unsafe, take a look at the whole situation. What caused it? Did he not know any better? Was she distracted? Did you perhaps say or do something that caused them to act that way? Sometimes finding the cause and eliminating it will prevent the issue from reoccurring.
Never Forget That We Are All Human
It is highly unlikely that you are a perfect person, and have always been a perfect person. We have all made mistakes, especially as children. It is therefore unfair to expect our children to be perfect. They will make mistakes, and it is important that you work with your child, not against them, to eliminate the safety issue and prevent it from ever happening again.
