We all love the playgrounds. After all, we were once kids who enjoyed the thrill of heights when we played hide and seek with “Lava” grounds and the hype of the chase on police and thieves activity.
Now we have our little ones running around, perhaps the same playground, or playgrounds from another location. Either one, we would want our children to have their best times and memories to the fullest.
Familiarization
“Now wait a minute, what is this word? We adults did not have to go through that when we were kids when we played at the playground.”
You would be surprised that there may some minor building defaults that children can experience versus to what an adult may not notice because of the maturation of the mindset.
Take some time to walk with your child through the playground that he or she is playing, even if it’s just 5 minutes especially on unfamiliar playgrounds.
Take note of the appropriate pathways of the playground and remind your children what is considered safe.
This not only gives you children parent bonding time but will also allow you to know something is amiss if they sidetrack off the usual pathway while you supervise from the distance.
Identify other minor hazards, stumps or sharp edges and isolate them if you can and remind your children to watch out for dangers you identified. Nonetheless, if you ever feel unsafe, do not hesitate to bring them to another safer playground instead.
Socialization
Our children will not be the only ones playing at the public playground. For that, our children must learn how to respect other players with dignity.
The playground is, in fact, one of the perfect places for children to practice their social skills and it is important that they learn how to utilize at least these few words. “Please”, “Thank You”, “Your Welcome”, “After You” and “Let’s share”.
You will be surprised at how cute your children can be when they are extremely polite. Not only that, it helps to cultivate a healthy mindset for your child’s development.
First Aid Knowledge
“You just fell? Nah, don’t worry about it. Get up and play!” and similar statements were what toughen us up when we were young. Surely we would want to apply the same theory to our children whenever they go through similar situations.
The real question is whether you are prepared to say those statements? What I am implying here is whether you have the appropriate First Aid knowledge?
Do you know how to identify and tend to an injury ranging from a minor scratch, bruises, minor and major bleedings to dislocation, muscle sprains and fractures?
Do you know how to tend to an allergic or asthmatic attack? What is the emergency number and what is your emergency plan if the situation goes south? Do you or your caretaker know what to do?
It is important to know how to identify and rectify the injury accordingly. We do not necessarily need to be first aid trained to gather this knowledge but it does not harm to be trained as one.
There are available one-stop workshops that teach parents and caretakers not just how to identify and tend to injuries, other knowledge such as tending to a choking victim to Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation skills ranging from an infant, young children to adults.
Accreditation programs are also available for those who require them for their work safety requirements or personal achievements.
Either way, it is recommended that you consider yourself or your caretaker to be first aid trained because our children will definitely get themselves into trouble once a while.
By Benjamin Pow
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