Safety and Security
When children play and learn new skills through play, they need to be provided with a safe environment so that they do not suffer from any physical or emotional injury/ trauma. It is also important to create a safe environment around the child to achieve his/ her holistic development. The components of a safe environment can be mainly divided into the following two groups:
Physical Environment
- The most common risk to children is that of an accident, such as burning, cutting, getting wounded, falling, pricking, and so on. Accidental injuries are a major cause of death, and young children are most likely to be injured in or around their home.
- Many serious injuries can be avoided if the parents and others take care of safety and create a safe environment for the children. One must pay special attention to the children who can crawl, walk, and run.
- Children are most at risk on the side of the road. An adult should always be with the child when crossing the road or walking by the road side.
- Most of the time, children tend to put any object in their mouth. It is, therefore, important to wash their toys every week to prevent infection.
The following things can prove to be dangerous for a child …
Snakes, scorpions, as well as, other dangerous animals
Putting a rope around their neck
Wells, drains, large holes in the house
Poisonous and harmful substances
Hot items
Water tanks
Sharp objects
Electrical equipment
Strangers
Family Environment
- In addition to the physical environment, the familial environment is also very important for the development of the child.
- Adults should respect the fact that the child has his/ her own opinion.
- The emotional environment for the development of a child needs to be taken care of by the family members, relatives, as well as, the people around them.
- Children should be protected from violence or bullying so that their confidence increases and they learn new things.
Emotional Security
In addition to physical and familial security, the emotional security of children is also very crucial.
It is essential for children to feel emotionally secure. For this, they must be spoken to with love, touched with love, and made to feel safe in a crowded or unfamiliar place.
The child realizes that his/ her feelings are understood if they are communicated with freely by understanding both the child's feelings of happiness and sorrow. This makes the child feel emotionally secure.