Levels of Safety
By teaching our children there are different levels of safety and those levels depend on the situation they are in and the decisions they make in those situations, we can better train them to use their instincts, intuition, and even fear as safety tools. This is an easy way to explain to our children how to trust these instincts.
"Every time we travel through a busy intersection, there are traffic lights there to tell us if it is safe to pass through. If the light is green, that tells us it is safe to pass, if the light is yellow that means we must use caution and to be careful and to prepare to stop. If the light turns red, that means danger and do not proceed or you may become hurt in an accident.
We can use these same lights, instead of traffic lights, as safety lights, to know when we are safe, to use caution, or to let us know we are in personal danger.
If our safety light is green?.. This means we are safe and everything is normal.
If our safety light turns yellow?..This means that our intuition, instincts, or our gut feeling is telling us something is wrong!
If your safety light turns red?..This means we are in immediate danger and have to act fast.
We have to train ourselves to recognize different situations we are in and be aware when that situation makes our safety light change from green to yellow or to red.
When our safety light turns yellow this is the time to slow down listen to our little voice inside of us called intuition, think about the situation we are in, and what is the best course of action to take to keep us safe and return us to a green light. For example,
We are swimming and we notice that the water is really deep and we are becoming tired...we should return to the shallow water and take a break, which would return us to our green light. But if we continue to swim in the deep water, we may become tired and find our self in a dangerous, red light situation.
Our head is beginning to hurt and mom is a sleep? instead of waking and asking her for some medicine, we look in the medicine cabinet and find what appears to be the aspirin she normally gives us? and we take it. This is defiantly a red light situation, because you could be taking the wrong medicine and become very sick. But if you had just woke mom up and told her you had a headache, you would have stayed safely in the green light.
Someone knocks on the door of your house. Anytime this happens, as a child you need to understand that this is a yellow safety light and you need to proceed with caution. First you never open the door unless you and your parents personally know the person. Like a friend of the family or a neighbor. If you do not know the person, which means have you never seen your parents speak to this person, you never open the door. Even if they say they are a policeman, fireman, or repairman. The decision that you should make to put yourself in the green light, would be to go find your parents and let them open the door. If you open the door, you could be putting yourself in a red light dangerous situation. If your parents are not home you should never, never, open the door for anyone. This is always a safety red light.
A person at school that is known to be a bully is standing at the end of the play ground. Knowing this your safety light immediately turns yellow. If you avoid that end of the playground your light will return to green, if you go to that end of the playground you may find your self in a safety red light.
By being aware of our surroundings and making smart decisions when we are in our yellow caution light, we can get back to our green safe light and avoid the red danger light.
Remember, it is OK to be afraid when our safety light turns yellow. Fear is what helps our intuition and instincts work. We should always trust our instincts and listen to our little voice inside. Remember, our little voice is always right."
Parents, by arming our children with mental safety so they can make quick, safe decisions, it gives them the confidence and focus to handle any type of situation and safeguard them for the future.
Michelle Annese is a 3rd degree black belt specializing in self defense classes and seminars for women and children. For more information on how to protect your child from strangers, bullies, and build them up with kid power and confidence go to http://www.michelleannese.com and check out other safety articles and sign up for a free safety tips e-newsletter.
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..We adopted our first child when he was three months... Read More
You have two kids who are 14 months apart. How... Read More
Giving with a happy heart. If you teach a child... Read More
This is one of the most common questions asked of... Read More
Prenatal intelligence, also known as fetal intelligence, has become a... Read More
Parents want their children to succeed in school. However, sometimes... Read More
Keith is now in the fourth grade and he dislikes... Read More
Children are moral and make moral determinations... at least until... Read More
It's that time again! Parent-teacher conferences are coming. Are you... Read More
It is not the divorce but the conflict arising after... Read More
Discipline is a necessary part of parenting yet it makes... Read More
Something happened the other day that made me feel uneasy.... Read More
For many adults, reading a book or newspaper seems effortless.... Read More
Parents, when you help your children learn to read, you... Read More
While youth gangs are nothing new -- they've been traced... Read More
Recess has begun disappearing in states all around the country.... Read More
Karen, a single never-married thirty-year old attorney has a four-year... Read More
My daughters and I went to the beach several weeks... Read More
It was the homework that did it. Each night became... Read More
My thirteen-year-old daughter recently called me up to say she... Read More
There is a front line and a back end to... Read More
Speaking as a Michael (a Hebrew name, meaning "Who is... Read More
Do you really want your child to enjoy playing with... Read More
In dealing with children with autism spectrum disorders, its all... Read More
There are software programs that you can purchase to keep... Read More
on demand house cleaning Arlington Heights .."It takes a village to raise a child" is more... Read More
An Awesome Dad in by no means perfect. But that... Read More
Winnie the Pooh is the classic picture of Inattentive ADHD.... Read More
There is a front line and a back end to... Read More
Let's be honest! When it comes to parenting, men expect... Read More
How can two or three children in the same family... Read More
I had just completed a session with 17-year old Julie... Read More
Imagine having no television for an entire season. Such was... Read More
Q. Things have been relatively calm and OK with our... Read More
1. Make stronger connections among individuals and, therefore, creates a... Read More
Mealtimes together deserve an important place in any family. Around... Read More
Get into their world. The world that teens are growing... Read More
Just two days ago, another 15-year old child was added... Read More
Despite serious reductions in funding for arts programs in... Read More
Children bombard parents with many challenging behaviours. We are delighted... Read More
1 - Forgive even if you will never be able... Read More
As a mom of 4 who's youngest child is about... Read More
Throughout the year, many days of celebration are tucked capriciously... Read More
It is so important to create an environment that promotes... Read More
Sara loves pampering. Haircuts, facials, manicures, and makeup bring smiles,... Read More
The time you will need to teach your children the... Read More
The law of -ing.The law of -ing refers to a... Read More
Many parents seem to be more than a little confused... Read More
You are at the grocery store with your daughter and... Read More
I look out of the window as I am writing... Read More
Parenting |