Anyone got tips on teaching a two year old road safety and stranger safety.
My son, while leaving the park was following me to the car and then in a split second ran to another car and opened the door and climbed in!
Freaked me out I screamed and went and got him and apologised profusely. Now I get the while I should have been holding his hand but let’s be real, my hands where fill of his stuff.
5 Replies
Bottom line is you don't.
2 year olds are driven by impulse and they have very little concept of danger. That's not to say that you can't or shouldn't try to explain these things to them but it's something that goes alongside risk minimisation on your part.
If he's a runner, he goes in the stroller or wears a harness if you can't physically hold his hand, maybe invest in one of those beach cart things so you can hold his hand and pull all his crap in the cart with the other hand.
Two year olds aren’t ready for that skill left. By yourself a wheelie trolly or take a stroller that you can load up with toys and child or buy a harness.
They have no where near the impulse control, so even if yiu kept them to recite the rules back, that won’t transfer to him always watching for cars.
For comparison, it’s suggested that kids can’t safely cross roads reliable un attended until they are 12 years old.
Every day walk him out to the road and hold his hand. Get down at his level and speak to him and let his hand go and keep repeating this daily. Show him the cars coming and keep explaining it everyday and he will pick it up eventually but he is still so young but if you show him it can help him understand.
Nah that’s a two year olds error. You were there and watching. You don’t scare them over that. Just say oops! You almost went home with someone else! Lucky mummy watches you!
I was one of those people that thought people that had leads on their children were cruel until I had a 2 yr old that would run through car parks.etc and think it was a game when I ran after him...it was terrifying. Pregnant with my second, I decided to get a Velcro wrist strap/ lead ..I would put it on him before leaving the shop, hold his hand and the lead, and walk him safely to the car.