Measure 47 — SH 4

Personal Safety

Child shows awareness of safety practices that minimize risk and support healthy growth

Developing an awareness and practice of safe behavior minimizes the risk of injury to self and others and supports healthy development. Young children gradually develop this practice by internalizing the safety rules and behaviors modeled by adults. Initially, children comply with safety rules and procedures with much assistance from adults. With time, young children begin to internalize these safety rules (and the reasons for the rules) and are able to comply with less adult support and prompting.

Very young infants react to internal sensations of fear but are not able to distinguish these from other sensations like hunger. In time, infants with caring and supportive caregivers develop a relationship of trust with familiar adults. They feel secure in the presence of these familiar adults. Infants respond to situations that make them feel unsafe by looking to a familiar adult for assistance and support. For example, an infant may cling to an adult when she is in a new, unfamiliar environment or when she hears a loud sound.

Toddlers seek out familiar adults when they feel insecure or unsafe. They may hold an adult’s hand in order to feel they can move safely from one place to another. Toddlers begin to follow simple safety rules when reminded, such as holding onto an adult’s hand as they go up stairs or out to a parking lot. Toddlers tend to repeat rules they have heard from adults. They can be heard repeating the rules aloud from memory or as they hear other children reciting them (“No pushing” or “Slow down”), sometimes right before they break them. For example, it is not uncommon for a child to say “No running,” and then begin to run. Toddlers are able to wait for adult assistance during transitions from one activity to the next, but usually with much prompting from an adult.

Young preschoolers can more easily follow simple safety rules, such as holding hands with a buddy as they walk to the park, with occasional prompts from adults. They are able to follow adult guidance to use toys safely or follow rules about safely playing at a water table or on a play structure. Young preschoolers have begun to internalize rules so that, as their abilities develop, they are able to follow some safety rules on their own. For example, they may know to wear a helmet while using a tricycle or know not to run indoors, and then follow the rule without being reminded. Of course, even though they are able to follow the rules, they may not always remember to do so.

Older preschoolers begin to generalize safety rules across situations. For example, a child may be taught to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle and then independently put on a helmet when using a scooter. Older preschoolers know to wipe up spills on the floor and may do this across different areas and situations. Finally, older preschoolers begin to demonstrate a greater understanding of safety rules when they can explain the reasons for the safety rules to other children and adults. For example, a child may explain to another child that “We wear helmets when we ride our bikes so we don’t hit our heads if we fall off;” or a child may stop swinging if he sees another child coming close to the front of the swing set.