As a parent, you might always feel the overwhelming need to be there to protect your kids. Even though none of us want to be a helicopter parent, it’s a little difficult to resist the urge when there are so many dangers out in the world. But that’s not how we can live our lives forever, can we?
Well, one of the most important things you need to teach younger children is how to handle locks!
This is important because children all around the world get locked inside rooms all the time and while they are usually fine if an adult is around, it’s not a situation that’s always going to turn out okay. To avoid that, it’s important that your kids know their way around locks and in this post, we’re going to touch on all the essentials they absolutely need to know and how you can go about teaching them!
Start inside a room
One of the most common troubles parents go through when their kids begin to walk and explore, is when locking themselves in by accident. Let’s face it, most of us don’t really keep track of every single key that unlocks the doors inside our home, and with a crying, trapped toddler, finding them becomes that much harder. This is a situation that no one wants to be in!
This can easily be avoided by showing your kids exactly how the locks in your home work. If you think they might not be smart enough to understand that, just take a look at them unlocking your phone to get to their favorite YouTube video, they’re pretty adaptive, trust them.
That way, even if they do accidentally lock themselves in, they’ll be able to get out!
It’s also important to note here that your doors should always be in perfect working condition, especially when you have young children in the house. It’s not always them locking themselves in. A malfunctioning door could trap them in too! If a door is old or isn’t functioning properly, call Locksmith Rochester NY, or a locksmith in your general area to come and repair all the locks for you so your kids can stay as safe as possible!
The perimeter
Whether your kids spend a lot of time outside or not, it’s important that they’re fully aware of how the latches on your windows, the locks on your fence, and all the other outdoor locks work.
In addition to that, you should also make sure they’re aware of where they can find spare keys too. This would help them just in case they end up losing their key and get stuck outside the house!
The rules
While it’s important to teach kids the way locks work, a lot of kids take anything and turn it into a joke. If your kid leans over to that side too, you might find that they want to lock people in and “prank them”.
This might not seem very harmful at first, but it is. It’s extremely important to teach them the rules of using locks, so they don’t lock anyone in on purpose. Make sure they understand that locks are important tools that they have to use responsibly. Then practice the rules around the home so they know that you follow them too, which will make them want to stick to the rules as well!
They’re all set!
Once your kids get all of these basics down, they’ll be able to make sure that they never accidentally end up getting locked anywhere! Them being safe and responsible children, is the stepping stone to them growing into responsible adults, and you can help them get there by educating them about their own safety while they’re younger!