Stop, Look & Listen

Emmy is now 3 and a half, we have mainly ditched the buggy for her unless on very long walks where we take the Phil & Ted’s so she can hop in if needed.

Being on foot with a baby/buggy and a Pre-schooler brings about it’s own challenges which is why from a very early age I have started teaching Emmy how to cross roads safely and how to behave near roads.

As soon as she started walking and walked with me outside I drummed it into her that she has to hold my hand near the roads, especially when crossing roads.  As she has gotten older, she has been given a little more freedom and can walk on her own however she MUST hold hands to cross the roads, she must STOP when told to.

Emmy knows that she has to stop at the curb to cross the road, she also knows to stop a while before the curb if I’m not next to her, she listens for me shouting STOP and she knows that if she doesn’t listen I will attach her backpack with her reins on. 

We have chatted about and learnt how to cross roads, STOP, LOOK, LISTEN & LOOK AGAIN – and every time we cross a road we repeat this, over and over again so she learns how to do it properly.

I’m strict with her when walking near roads for a reason – roads are dangerous, there are many hazards to overcome when near roads or when crossing roads and at 3.5 years old it is far too young to be able to judge these dangers for herself.  It’s hard enough for adults some times and accidents happen more often than we would like.

Having been a Nanny there are things I may do differently from others, I probably overthink things to be honest, however that’s because I have always been incharge of other people’s children.  So when caring for other people’s children you need to think about things happening in advance and plan those scenarios – for instance:

• If you were driving with them in the car and you had an accident how would the police or ambulance drivers know the children weren’t yours? It would mostly be assumed that they belonged to you as they are in your care
• If you have an accident while out walking how would others know who the children were if you were in an accident and who to contact to come and look after them?

I told you I over think things, however that’s what I was trained to do.

How I combatted this when working was to keep a note book in the glove compartment and also in my handbag with a few details written down, such as: A page stating that I was a Nanny and the children in my care were my charges and in the event of an emergency their parents could be contacted on the following number….(for obvious reasons I wouldn’t have the children’s names and address written down)

Now this is actually good practice for parents too, keeping a few details written down on you somewhere could be useful in the case of an accident, so why not have a page in your diary of who to contact in case of emergency? or even a contact in your phone labelled ICE (In case of emergency)? Other useful numbers to have written down somewhere could be those of solicitor’s for road accident information or for road incident advise.

I know Emmy will be taught her green cross code at school however children are never too young to be taught road safety, so don’t wait for the teachers to do it, make it fun and enjoyable for them and start teaching them from a very young age – it’s one of the most important things you can do with your child.