The topic of personal safety within early childhood education is extremely important. Whilst childcare centres and schools, such asHopskotch Kindergarten, need to put in systems to protect children, having a firm sense of personal identity and space from a young age can help children have confident relationships with the adults in their life.
Here are some tips as you get started
Involve the parents
Most parents are delighted when their early childhood educators help them by introducing this topic at school or daycare. Let the parents know the messages that you will be sending, such as the fact that only parents, doctors and carers should be allowed to touch in their nappy/underpants area and trusting any feelings about inappropriate actions by parents. You can let parents know and they can contribute any particular terms that they use at home, or let you know of additional resources that they use at home to cover the same topics.
Get advice from not-for-profits
There are several great not-for-profits that deal with issues of personal safety including the Daniel Morecombe Foundation which encourages children to draw a personal safety hand where they write the name of trusted people against each digit. This helps children who are potentially unsafe to have a range of options to let caring adults know their concerns and get help working through the issues. Another great topic is to cover protective behaviours, which helps children recognise and react to feelings of nervousness and not feeling safe. These not-for-profits often have some great prepared resources for different age groups, which can be a great starting point as you create your learning programs.
Keep it fun
While this can be a heavy topic, it's important to keep it fun and light so that kids will remember the important points. One of the ways to make it fun is to make sure that you use fun songs and let kids role play with teddies and dolls so that they can practise any necessary skills to discuss important issues such as safety concerns. There are also many great story books such as "My Underpants Rule" that cover these issues in a fun and age appropriate way. Consider asking the local public librarian for advice on other useful resources and head online to find colouring and arts and craft resources that you can use.
Covering personal safety in your early childhood education environment is a great way to help your children to be confident and safe in interactions with adults.
Share24 May 2016
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