Stranger Danger

Stranger, it’s a scary word. To parents it represents one of our biggest fears. We worry a lot about a stranger harming our children. To continue with Goddard’s theme this month about safety, we are focusing on strangers this week. How do you strike the balance between raising a friendly child vs. raising a cautious child?

Here are a few tips to help teach your children about the concept of strangers:

• Try not to scare your child with details on what a stranger can do to harm them. You want to develop a healthy caution not a phobia about strangers. 
• Set ground rules for when you’re out of the home in a public place.
• Work under the rule “if I can’t see you or you can’t see me you are too far away”. This could stop your child from ending up in an isolated place where a stranger can harm them.
• Another good rule is to tell your children to always tell their caregiver where they are or where they are going to.
• Teach your child that they should not talk to strangers especially when you aren’t with them
• Review with your child what a stranger is in simple terms. Someone they have never been introduced to. Someone who is trying to make them leave with them. Explain that you would never send anyone to get them that they don’t already know. 
• Review the tactics a dangerous stranger might try. “Please help me find my lost puppy dog” or “If you go with me to the candy store I will buy you a treat”.

Your goal is to help your child develop a healthy awareness of stranger danger, so they can make decisions that will keep them safe now and in the future.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is later this week and we thought we would share some Halloween Safety tips.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has written tips on selecting a costume, safe trick or treating and healthy treats.    Click here to read the tips.

4 Ways to Ease Childhood Fears

Every child has fears, but the key to helping your child get over their fears is how you help them cope. Scholastic.com offers 4 ways to ease childhood fears. Click here to read the article.

First Sleepover

This is a true sign that your child is growing up. When your child is ready for their first sleepover it is certainly a milestone. But it can also be an anxious time for both you and your child. Here are a few tips to take the anxiety out of a sleepover.

* Make sure your child knows the family they will be spending the night with pretty well. The best situation would be for your child to have several play dates and maybe even a meal with the family prior to sleeping over. This will help acclimate your child to the particular habits of the family they are staying with.

* Make sure that you feel comfortable with the family that will be hosting the sleepover. If your child knows that you are uncomfortable, they might sense your discomfort. This can lead to your child feeling uncomfortable.

* Set expectations with your child for what a sleepover will be like. Tell them what activities they will do and how much fun they will have.
* Pack some of your children’s favorite items to take with them. This will remind them of home and comfort them.

* Anticipate the midnight call. Don’t be disappointed if your child calls and wants to come home. This is not a failure on their or your part. Take some time and try again once you feel they are ready.

Helping Toddlers Become Problem Solvers

Parenthood.com offers some great advice on helping your toddler to become a problem solver. Toddlers who learn how to problem solve help to fuel their brains for higher thinking. Young children who can problem solve can learn more about how their world operates. Read the article at Parenthood.com.

Interrupting

Do you get frustrated when you’re trying to carry on a conversation with another adult or even one of your other children and you get interrupted? It’s frustrating to everyone involved. Here are a few tips to help your child learn to wait their turn during conversations.

Children have a small world around them. They often interrupt because they feel that they are the center of their world and that it all revolves around them and their needs. Helping them understand that there are rules around conversations with others and that what others have to say is just as important as what they have to stay is critical to stopping interruptions.

• Establish some basic rules of the road and stick to them: 
• Establish rules for when visitors come to your home – when you have company coming over tell your children that it’s really important that you talk to your company uninterrupted. Offer them alternatives to keep them busy such as a toy or book.. 
• Point out when your child interrupts – this will help them identify the disruptive behavior and learn that it is not appropriate. 
• Don’t ignore interruptions – this is likely to result in frustration and often makes children interrupt more. 
• Explain when interrupting is ok. Describe what types of situations are important and what aren’t. 
• Explain how important listening is instead of interrupting. Listening is a critical part of the communication model and an important skill need to excel in school. 

Hopefully, over time, you’ll see a reduction in interruptions from your child.

Fire Safety Web Site

To continue with Fire Safety week, I found this great website called the US Fire Administration.  They have a kid’s page that offers fire safety tips and color pages, cross word puzzles and much more.  Click here to check out the site

Fire Safety

October is Fire Prevention Month and Goddard Ashburn is reviewing fire safety with the kids at school. Here are a few tips for teaching fire safety to kids.

·        Practice fire drills at home – rehearse different emergency scenarios with your family. This can avoid wasting valuable time when you’re dealing with an emergency in your home.

·        Talk about escape routes for each room of your home.

·        Designate a meeting place outside your home that is a safe distance away

·        Test your plan

It’s always good to introduce scary topics to your children through games. Here are a few games that teach valuable safety lessons.

• Feel Your Way to Safety – have your kids close their eyes and feel their way out of the home. This can also help your kids get some exercise. Just make sure you watch your kids closely so they don’t fall and get hurt.
• Stop, Drop and Roll – press your fire alarm test button, or simply say go and have your kids see how fast they can stop, drop and roll.

Teach your kids about fire safety

• Explain what smoke detectors, escape ladders and fire extinguishers are, how they work, why they are installed in the house, and what they will do when you use them.
• Explain that getting out of the house is most important in a fire. And once you’re out, stay out.

These rules can go a long way to protecting and even saving the lives of your family.

Separation anxiety

Babycenter.com gives some great advice and background on separation anxiety and you little ones.  They offer tips and advice on when you may see separation anxiety, how to prepare for separation issues, and how to make it easier on your little one.  Click here to read the article.

Tall Tales

We have all heard our little ones bend the truth as they tell stories. But the question is, when is this just an overactive imagination and when do you consider it lying?

Why Toddlers Lie

Generally there are three main reasons toddlers lies:

1.   They have a strong imagination and are making up stories

2.   They lie out of fear of being punished when they know they did something wrong

3.   They lie so they can feel special, or make friends

All of these activities are normal for young children.

Tips on How to React

• Don’t make a big issue of the lie
• Don’t react with fear or anger
• Respond calmly and let your toddler know that you are aware of the lie
• If they are lying to avoid consequences, explain the lying to hide bad behavior makes the situation worse.

• Make sure to give your children lots of praise when they do tell the truth

When Lies Become a Problem

Here are some signs lying is becoming a problem:

• If the frequency, seriousness, and behavior surrounding the lie is becomes problematic.


• If your child continues to lie as they become older and right and wrong become more defined

In general, lying is perfectly normal and it is part of growing up and fitting in for toddlers. Help your children define the lines between truth and lies and given them a great start in life.