From the time of birth until they are fully able to take care of themselves, parents have an obligation to protect their children from danger. These dangers change over time, and parents' duties will range from taking simple home safety measures to teaching teenagers about Internet safety. Fortunately, a number of excellent resources are available to assist families with these important tasks.
Safety at Home
According to Safe Kids USA, an organization dedicated to preventing accidental childhood injury, more than 4.5 million children annually are injured in their homes. Many common household injuries, such as those caused by fires, burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, firearm injury, poisoning and falls, can be prevented with a combination of proper supervision and simple prevention measures, such as locking cabinets and installing carbon monoxide and smoke alarms.
Outdoor Safety
When children are outdoors, a number of other potential dangers present themselves. One major cause of child injury and death is pedestrian accidents. Children should be taught, and parents should model, safe pedestrian behavior. This is especially important for children walking unaccompanied to school. Biking accidents are also an important cause of childhood injury. Parents must ensure that their children ride bikes safely and always wear helmets.
Sports and Water Safety
As with biking, the proper use of protective equipment and following rules can also help prevent sports-related injuries. Teaching children water safety is especially important. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children under age 14, according to Safe Kids USA. Adult supervision of young swimmers is essential. Swimming and water safety lessons can also reduce the risk of a potentially tragic accident.
Talking to Strangers
Children old enough to be outside alone must be taught to be cautious around strangers. The National Crime Prevention Council offers a number of helpful tips on how to help kids recognize which strangers can be trusted. They also suggest making sure you always know where your children are and making it a rule that they must always ask you before they go anywhere. You should give your children phone numbers so you can always be reached and show them safe places to go outside of your home. Children should also be encouraged to walk with friends.
Dangers of the Internet
While the Internet has opened up a vast world of possibilities for children, it has also made it easier for sexual predators to approach them. The FBI suggests talking to your child about sexual victimization and potential online danger, spending time online with your child to see what they're looking at, keeping the computer in a public room in the house, using parental controls on the computer, periodically checking your child's email and making sure that your child knows to never give out identifying information online.
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