How to Discourage Children From Unsafe Climbing
While curiosity can be one of a child's most delightful traits, many parents worry that their offspring will wander to dangerous heights and hurt themselves by falling to the ground. Fortunately, you can teach your children to avoid dangerous climbing without squelching their zest for adventure.
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Instructions
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Tell your children stories about a little animal that climbs up a high tree or ladder and falls down and becomes injured. Children relate to characters in fables and are more likely to learn a lesson as a result of hearing it enacted in a narrative rather than through constant nagging. Emphasize the lesson the little animal learns in your imaginary story, and tell your child that after recovering from her fall, she always played safely on the ground.
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Explore your yard or home with your child and find play activities that involve remaining safely on the ground. If you help your child become fascinated with bugs and grass, for example, she is less likely to clamber up a tree in search of new adventures.
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Ask your child to repeat to you the dangers of climbing high objects. Telling a child something doesn't necessarily mean that he has internalized the instructions. Check for understanding by asking him to repeat guidelines and rules about avoiding unsafe climbing back to you in his own words.
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Encourage your child to avoid unsafe climbing with positive reinforcement in the form of rewards. Scolding a child and punishing her when she attempts a dangerous adventure is likely to incite rebellion. However, if a child plays safely on the ground all day, reward her with a treat and praise.
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References
Resources
- "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys"; Stephen James et al.; 2009
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
