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Raising children is no little task. Parenting is difficult, and parents require as much assistance as possible. When it comes to caring for your child, you’re probably looking for simple ways to keep them healthy and safe. With toddlers particularly, this is an elevated process, especially since they are building a lot of different skills, including developing gross and fine motor skills, making choices, valuing their independence, and more. The toddler years are marked by the fact that they are running, kicking, and throwing things, besides manipulating objects and more.

Safety can take many forms. This could include protecting your child from harm or preventing sicknesses and disorders. Sometimes, they go hand in hand, and it’s critical that you understand the fundamentals of keeping your child safe even when you’re not present. It’s critical to teach your youngster self-regulation. This can be useful in a variety of scenarios and help them make informed decisions. For toddlers, since their language skills aren’t fully developed yet, they may experience frustration when they are not able to communicate their thoughts and feelings. This frustration, in turn, can also lead to challenging behaviour that carries the risk of injury to themselves and to others. There are some simple habits you can implement in your child’s life to ensure that they are making the best decisions and that you are doing your part to keep your child as safe and healthy as possible. You can teach your child to take soothing breaths when they are in a novel situation and may feel anxious. This can also help children understand how to manage their emotions and prevent potentially dangerous situations. You should encourage your child to try different foods and ensure that they are getting all the nutrients they require.

1. Active Supervision

The number one safety rule when it comes to toddlers is active supervision. The child needs to be always under the watch of an adult. Staying close by so that you can reach your child quickly is key. At any time if you cannot hear the toddler, you sure need to check on them. In times that they are potentially moving towards unsafe activities, engaging with them, and redirecting them towards making safe choices is key.

2. Creating Safe Spaces

There really isn’t any alternative to child-proofing the space. Ensure you arrange furniture and household items in a manner that allows them to flex their developing motor abilities. Blocking off stairs and locking doors to hazardous areas is important.

Within the house it is also imperative to make sure that hazardous items are out of their reach. This includes sharp objects such as knives, other hazardous objects such as matchboxes and more. Due care also needs to be taken to see that electrical switches are out of their bounds. Another aspect to be mindful of is to have all medicines out of reach of children.

In the kitchen, particularly, the following rules will help:

• Cook on back burners so that children do not have access to hot pots and pans.
• Use child proof covers on stove knobs.
• Do not leave any dangling cords that can lead the children to access electrical appliances.
• Ensure there aren’t any small fridge magnets that are in the child’s reach. These can be put in the mouth and can lead to choking hazards.

3. Avoid Choking Hazards

Toddlers are prone to choking risks; hence, it is imperative that you are careful while feeding them. While it may work well to feed a fussy eater while they are busy running or playing, this comes with choking hazards. Early on, young children must, in fact, be encouraged to sit up and eat. It is also important to ensure that children chew their food properly. Mealtimes, therefore, need to be unhurried. You also need to make sure that there aren’t any small parts lying around that toddlers can put in their mouths. In choosing toys and other objects, you also need to make sure that they are child-safe. Pro tip- Keep checking toys for any loose or broken parts.

4. Be Gentle with Pets

Being around pets teaches children many valuable lessons including that of caring and compassion. However, children must also be taught to be gentle with pets and to respect the pet’s boundaries. Some other aspects to be mindful of, include:

• Ensure that toddlers do not over-excite the pet.
• Leave pets alone when they are eating.
• Learn how to pet animals calmly.
• Ensure that children do not touch any stray animal that they come across.

Failure to observe these basic guidelines could lead to pets becoming agitated and could lead to scratches or even serious injuries.

5. Use Safety Devices

The use of safety devices such as smoke alarms in a toddler’s home is key. Other safety devices include outlet covers, cabinet locks, and baby gates, to name a few.

6. Be Cautious Of The Child’s Access To Water

Make sure that the child does not have access to water by way of a pool or a bathtub. Ensure that entry to these places is always restricted as they come with drowning hazards and can become life-threatening to toddlers.

7. Teach Basic Safety Rules

Besides child-proofing the space, it is extremely important to teach some safety rules to toddlers. For instance, they need to be taught to hold their hand when they step out of home. Similarly, they need to be taught not to pluck anything in the park and put it in their mouth. Age-appropriate safety rules, when taught early, can go a long way in not just keeping the child safe but also ensuring discipline is an integral part of their life.

8. Prepare for Emergencies

Given the fact that toddlers are accident prone, ensure that you have emergency phone numbers handy, including that of your child’s pediatrician. Having basic first aid supplies at hand is also key when it comes to toddlers.

To Sum Up

It is important to remember that the mobility and curiosity of toddlers develop much before their listening skills or common sense. This is what necessitates parents to be overly cautious when dealing with toddlers. While constant supervision is a tedious task, you can also work at re-channeling their energy. For instance, having a sensory bin stocked with all kinds of objects can go a long way toward keeping them occupied while you take care of important tasks.

Above all, remember that children learn a lot by observing. Remember, therefore, to model safe behaviour.

At Footprints, a preferred play school and daycare chain, child safety is of extremely high priority for us. Whether it is child-proofing classrooms or offering the children nutritious meals, we ensure that child safety isn’t compromised at any point.

Here’s to the safety and holistic growth of our little learners!