Having a child can be worrying for new fathers, especially as they grow older and start to become curious about the world and have minds of their own. As a new dad, you might be concerned about your child’s safety when out and about as well as how to protect them in difficult circumstances. However, there are many methods to make your parenting experience more peaceful by finding ways in which you can keep your child safe in the big, wide world.
· Ensure Your Car is Safe
Every child needs the correct type of car seat to keep them safe when traveling and make sure that they are secure in an accident. Many car seats cater to both children and newborns, including the Clek Fllo, which is compatible with an extension called the Infant Thingy that makes this seat viable for young children. To find out more about the car seats on offer for your child, ParentingPod offers reviews on a number of different car seats, including ‘Clek Foonf Car Seat Review: Luxury, Style, & Safety But Is It Worth It?’, which details all that you need to know about the popular Clek Foonf car seat.
You should also use seatbelts to keep children from harm, even if they are using a car seat, as this will prevent them from hitting the windows of your car or otherwise hurting themselves in the event of a car accident. You can also keep kids safe within a car by installing child locks, stopping them from being able to open the door by accident.
· Take Precautions in Crowded Areas
Your child, especially newborns, should never be left unattended in any location outside of the house, especially in crowded areas such as shopping areas and parks, without a trusted adult’s supervision. You should be present until they are at least 8 years old, or even older, and you should not allow them to walk home from school or run errands until this time.
· Teach Them Safety Lessons
There are many precautions that you can teach your children that can help them to remain safe when they grow older, especially when you are not with them. One of the top schemes that have been used to teach children about safety is the Stranger Danger rule, which teaches children to be wary of strangers and to say no to anything offered to them when out and about by themselves.
· Have an Emergency Plan
Anything can happen when you are out and about, and although this should not put you off exploring with your child, it is important that you have an emergency plan in place so that your child knows what to do if they find themselves alone. This can include meeting in a certain place if a child becomes separated from you, showing them the lost child points in shopping centers and at events, and teaching them how to safely ask for help in shops or from other families.
· Be Mindful of Roads
Roads are one of the biggest dangers to your child’s safety when you are exploring the world together, and you should always be mindful of roads, even in rural areas. You should teach your child to cross a road safely as soon as they start to walk. This includes showing them how to stop, look in the direction of oncoming traffic (often both ways), and then crossing only when safe to do so. You should also teach them how to spot safe crossing places, such as marked pedestrian crossings and traffic lights.
· Protect Them Online
The modern age has introduced many new dangers for children as they grow up, and the internet can prove to be dangerous due to factors such as cybercrime, bullying, and child grooming. With 60% of children using the internet at home, you can protect them online by monitoring their online activity and any social media accounts that they have, placing parental controls on devices, and teaching them how to spot crimes and problems that they should be aware of.
· Find a Safe Day Care
Children, especially newborns, often attend day care, and this can be their first experience of aa location outside of the home. However, you still need to ensure that they can be kept safe at these locations by checking the facilities and reviews of the day care in question, asking to see the credentials and experience of the staff running the day care, and asking for advice from other parents in your local area to help you to find a safe and happy daycare for your children.
Keeping your child safe can help you to get the peace of mind that you need when you are a parent. Although it can be difficult to keep your child safe at all times without becoming a helicopter parent, there are many ways, as shown above, that you can help to prepare your child for the challenges that they may face outside of the home.