Good skills learned early will carry a child through life. Sound safety habits are especially important for children to learn when they’re young. Here are five things parents need to make sure their kids learn at an early age.
How to Swim
It’s extremely important to teach a child to swim. Drowning is the second leading cause of death in children from the age of one through nineteen. Swimming instructors who have trained to work with young children can teach them to respect and enjoy the water with confidence in their new swimming and water safety skills.
Knowing your child can swim will give you a peace of mind whenever you know your child may be around water. Swimming is also a skill your child may really take to and may make it a hobby or competitive sport for the rest of their life.
How to Socialize
Play is one of the most important ways a young child learns. Playing with others helps children expand their world. Even shy children learn to become comfortable with others. Kids at play establish boundaries and learn to take responsibility. Time spent at a local playground, with a parent looking on, gives children practice at developing their own social space and skills.
Whether or not you have multiple children they can socialize with you should still take the time to make sure your kids is socializing outside of home. This will better prepare them for when they enter school and have to interact with their classmates every day.
How to Make Healthy Choices
Parents need to make sure their children establish good hygiene when they are young. Teaching them to brush their teeth, wash their hands and organize their bath items will start them on the path to a healthy life. Learning to use a seat belt and a bicycle helmet will establish safety awareness. Children who are exposed to good nutrition choices early on will have a great advantage.
Some children pick up on these habits quickly, but for others it may take some prodding. Above all the best way to teach your kids these habits is by example. Be sure you are eating healthy, wearing your seatbelt, and brushing your teeth daily so your children see that this is something they will always have to do.
How to Cross the Street
Learning pedestrian safety skills is vital for young children. Children learn from experience. Give them a good role model to follow. A parent or caregiver should take them on walks and teach them to look both ways, to be aware of traffic and to stay on the sidewalk.
Find the safest route to walk to school, a friend’s house or a nearby playground. While they may be too young to venture out on their own, they are not too young to learn safe behavior.
How to Ride a Bike
Children learn to ride bicycles at an early age. Watching them take their first solo trip down the block is exciting. Teaching them how to be safe on the street is vital from the start.
Many communities have bike clinics for kids. Children pass helmet checks, learn traffic rules, have their bicycles inspected and practice avoiding obstacles. It has been said it can be very difficult for adults to ride a bike, so it is in your child’s best interest to learn while they are young.
Parents need to make sure their children learn good habits and skills at a young age. Kids deserve an early start on a good, healthy and happy life and it is your job as a parent to help make sure this happens.
Annette Hazard is a freelance writer that often writes about small business, health, sciences, and finance. In her spare time, she enjoys running and living a healthy lifestyle with her husband and dog Romeo. Annette contributed several articles in the past:
Owning a Pet – Five Things Your Children Can Learn
Five Tips for Kid Proofing Your Home for the First Time
How to Teach Your Kids the Importance of Education
Please set aside some time to check them out.
Can you think of anything else a child should learn at a young age? List them in the Comments below. Thank you.
This is a simple and useful guide that every parent should read. Parents are often bombarded with tips and advice, and often get too focused on the details that don’t matter. Getting back to the basics is important when it comes to parenting.
I agree with you Anita on getting back to basics. In the information age it’s very easy to get saturated with information and lose site of what’s important. Thank you for commenting.
Gerardo