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