Games are a way to get children involved in an activity they might otherwise find onerous. Just ask Mary Poppins, or family safety expert Tom Patire. Whether in a martial arts class, at school or on a field trip to the Red Cross, a safety game can help your children learn how to react in an emergency.
Purpose
Safety games teach children the skills and decision-making processes necessary to safely negotiate crises. By wrapping safety concepts in play, adults can teach children survival skills while neither losing their attention nor frightening them to the point that learning becomes impossible.
Features
Child safety programs such as Tom Patire’s “Know and Go” use safety games to ingrain lessons hidden in the context of a fun game. Repetition is key to fully internalizing any concept, especially concepts that must be remembered under stress. Children tire of games much more slowly than they tire of lessons. Thus, during safety play, they get more repetition than they would in a study environment.
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of safety games is a matter of some dispute. Safety expert Gavin de Becker cites studies noting that safety games involve practicing behaviors out of context. In emergency situations, the context includes emotionally charged events, adrenaline rush and fear. In tests that attempt to mimic realistic situations, de Becker found that children forget the lessons they learned during safety games and revert to less-informed decisions.
Types
Safety games can be appropriate to practice for virtually any emergency situation, says kids’ martial arts instructor Ben Cohn. A class can use a tag or chase game to practice evading a bully or kidnapper. Role-playing works well for education about child lures, fire plans and first aid. Video games can help teach traffic safety and even basic driving skills.
Considerations
Tom Patire notes that regular review and practice are necessary to make sure your children understand the lessons they learned in a game. Before leaving the venue where your children first played a safety game, talk with the instructor to learn how the game works. If available, get a handout or brochure explaining the basics of the game and the concepts behind the game.
References
- "Ultimate Personal Protection Handbook"; Tom Patire; 2004
- "Know and Go Safety Curriculum"; Tom Patire; 2006
- Ben Cohn, Martial Arts Teacher, Bushido Martial Arts, Hillsboro, Oregon
- "Protecting the Gift"; Gavin de Becker; 2005
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