AmyontheFarm Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 What topics or information would you/ do you present to your children under the umbrella label of "Health and Safety" Education? I live on a farm, so I see things from that point of view. Some topics would be for elementary age level, others for high school level. Elementary Level Internet Safety Bike Safety ATV Safety Gun Safety Swimming Safety Large Animal Safety Tractor and implement Safety Fire Safety Chemical Safety Grain Storage Safety High school level Internet Safety - because they forget!!!! ATV/ motorcross safety Gun Safety Large Animal Safety Tractor and implement Safety Chemical Safety Grain Storage and moving Safety And today I'm adding - Date Rape Prevention, reasons for evidence collecting, etc. Any other suggestions? Just makes me spitting mad that I have to talk to my kids about what to do if they are ever attacked, even if they don't want to tell me for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I think your list looks thorough. :) I used the California standards when planning our health study. These are some areas we cover (which may not apply in your case): - Hygiene/Health: Dental, Practices to avoid communicable diseases, dealing with chronic diseases - Earthquake safety - Sun safety - Nutrition If you wanted more detail, here is the document, it covers K-12 http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/healthstandmar08.pdf I also found some free online lesson plans and content and bookmarked them here:. http://pinterest.com/duplorers/elementary-health-home/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 We cover stranger aware too for elementary, maybe because me and hubby grew up in densely populated city and we took the public transport from young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Weather (here it's lightning & tornadoes & blizzards) Snakes (if you have them nearby) Strange Animals (aggressive dog down the street, rabid raccoon in the backyard) Getting Lost/Separated (who/how to ask for help, memorize mom & dad's cell phone numbers) - this can be expanded for the highschoolers with basic survival skills Car Accident (what happens if driver is unconscious?) First Aid Home Invasion (robbers) We had "disaster Monday" as part of school for a while, talking about something like this once a week. It gave my then-6yo nightmares, so we stopped, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get her that info without causing problems again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrichor Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Disaster monday :laugh: (sorry) It sounds like an excellent idea, but I know some 8 year olds that would get nightmares from that sort of thing. Could you imagine trying to do something like that in a school setting? lol! FWIW, I would consider bringing back diaster monday, maybe play around with the day of the week you do it on, or only do it 1-2x/month to avoid the feeling of constant disaster. You want your kids to feel prepared for a disaster, but you don't want them to feel like every time you leave the house disaster will most likely strike. My idea of a disaster monday would be role playing the disaster. One kid role plays like they are in the situation, and one parent and the other kid talk them through the situation (as much or as little talk is necessary) . In some cases, kid 2 might need to play the part of the robber or wild animal or bystander, for instance. Having one kid be the "victim" and one be the "bystander" would teach both what to do if you are in the situation, and what to do if you see someone in the situation at once. I would hope that role playing, as opposed to just talking about the situation or watching a video, would help them feel more comfortable about not only the idea of the "disaster", but about getting through the "disaster" safely. Because the whole point of this exercise would be to prepare them in case such a thing ever happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 My idea of a disaster monday would be role playing the disaster. One kid role plays like they are in the situation, and one parent and the other kid talk them through the situation (as much or as little talk is necessary) . In some cases, kid 2 might need to play the part of the robber or wild animal or bystander, for instance. Having one kid be the "victim" and one be the "bystander" would teach both what to do if you are in the situation, and what to do if you see someone in the situation at once. I would hope that role playing, as opposed to just talking about the situation or watching a video, would help them feel more comfortable about not only the idea of the "disaster", but about getting through the "disaster" safely. Because the whole point of this exercise would be to prepare them in case such a thing ever happened. They actually did enjoy it during the day, it just came back to "haunt' us at night. ;) We'd read a picture book from the library about the topic, talk about it, and they thought it was super fun to practice and looked forward to finding out what the new topic would be, even suggesting some. The idea was supposed to be that if they felt prepared, they wouldn't feel like they needed to be afraid of whatever, and hopefully they'd be able to react correctly if anything did happen. My younger is just super-sensitive about some things and has sleep issues anyway, so it backfired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Survival skills - include things like hug-a-tree when lost when hiking, how to stay warm, stay in the open, how to leave signs to show where you are, don't hike alone or go away from your group, stay on marked trails, carry a whistle, carry food and water, dress appropriately for weather, always let someone know where you are going and when you will return, avalanche safety, flash flood safety, how to find water, how to make emergency shelter, etc. Obviously, high school level will include more information, such as starting a fire safely, finding food, etc. CPR, First Aid, Heimlich maneuver - good for all age levels Basic "what to do if" situations: what if you are riding bikes with a friend and your friend crashes and is unconscious (do you leave your friend to get help?), who can you ask for help? How? If your child needs to knock on a stranger's door to ask for help, how can he do it safely? What if someone is drowning? How can your child help without putting himself in danger? What if your child finds an adult who is unconscious? What if your child witnesses a car accident? What does he do? Being a good witness - noticing details, remembering license plates, etc. Additional topics for hIgh school level: date rape being safe at a party (bring your own drinks, don't leave your food or drink unattended, stay with people you know, leave only with parents or friends) riot safety (or safety in large groups that get rowdy) suicide prevention, suicide warning signs cutting, what to do if a friend is cutting listening to that small, uneasy warning feeling about a person or situation, vehicle safety (what if your car breaks down at night, keeping doors locked, park in lighted areas. Also add what to do if you are on a dark road and see flashing lights behind you - what do you do to be sure that it really is an officer without appearing to ignore the flashing lights? (Ex, here, there have been times when someone uses flashing lights at night to pretend to be an officer, then attacks after the driver pulls over. The suggestion given to student drivers by police officers is to use a cell phone to call 911 to verify that it really is an officer behind them before pulling over, and requesting to pull over at the first lighted parking lot or safe area instead of on the dark road. 911 can communicate with the officer.) Identity theft (keeping their credit cards/debit cards safe, keeping track of their checking/savings accounts for any unauthorized use, secure payment on websites (https sites), steps to take if there are unauthorized charges/debits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Haven't read the rest of the replies, but water safety. If you look for the site for the Army Corps of Engineers, there's an email address for where they will send you a free DVD called "Safe Passage," for elementary school students. It's a little hokey, but it had some really good information, and there are free downloadable PDFs to use as follow-up worksheets. We include prenatal and neonatal growth and development, and I'd include birth and lactation for an older kid too. (I'd have said especially for girls, but y'know, boys should be able to be supportive of their future spouses too.) There's the strict biology, but there's more to it all than that. Fire safety is required here in PA, every year. Firearm safety would also be really important here. Exercise safety -- the importance of stretching, warning signs that you're overdoing it, etc. I'm semi-hesitant to discuss anorexia and bulimia with my kids, because I don't like the idea of putting those things in their heads. I think I'm more inclined to wait until and unless I see any concerns about eating habits. (And the same with suicide.) Younger kids get basic discussions of dental and personal hygiene and nutrition (whatever your family believes about proper nutrition). Tweens get to count discussion of adolescent physical changes. At some point, discussions of safe s*x (whatever that means in your family) should be included. Some of that is hard, because it just comes up naturally as a family -- I mean, I tell my 1yo and 4yo "okay, we're going to brush your teeth to get the sugar bugs off of them," so at some point, I print off a basic worksheet to throw in the portfolio as proof that we covered it. I also would include discussions of safe people. Not necessarily stranger awareness, but how to get help if you get lost in a store, or what to do if someone approaches you or tries to snatch/attack you. I'm going to read this thread more thoroughly and jot down some of the ideas for future reference -- great thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 RAD For Kids -- I had the adult women's RAD class, and plan on finding the Kids one for my DDs. Water Safety -- especially life jackets. I ordered one in special for my eldest when she outgrew her child vest -- I wanted leg straps, so she wouldn't slide out the bottom if she were unconscious in the water. Now I need to get another one for our youngest, and I'd like adult vests with leg straps for DH and me. Calling 911 -- especially when the only phones around are cell phones. It's important to have practiced what to tell 911 (address FIRST!) to make sure help can find you. Fire drills -- be sure to do some at night when everyone is asleep. I found out something I heard is true -- kids really DO sleep through shrieking alarms, even when the alarm is in their own room. Know not only how to get out, but who you have to wake up. DH once set a pan on fire on the stove (accidentally) late at night (he was still up). The kids never woke up, though the smoke in the house was thick and ALL alarms (including in their rooms) were at full volume. TORNADO/STORM SAFETY!!!! This is my big pet peeve -- down south here everyone gets exited over the thought of a possible hurricane or tropical storm (which don't always hit our area every year), but totally ignore tornadoes, which we have several of every year. They are even spawned by the tropical storms that everyone watches for. I'm not saying don't prepare for tropical storms -- I'm just saying stop ignoring the threat of tornadoes! Make sure you have a ground- or below-ground floor, central room away from glass -- the more walls between you and the outside the better. Don't be fooled into thinking you can simply go to the side of the building away from the approaching tornado -- as it passes those winds will change direction and you will be in greater danger than you thought. If you find yourself in a highrise and can't get to or below ground head for interior hallways or rooms (the smaller the better) and hunker down and cover your head and belly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Thanks everyone! This is an amazing list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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