Most of the safety lessons I carry around instinctively, I learned the hard easy way by watching friends make the mistakes. Thanks to my village, I know that breastfeeding is not sufficient birth control and that I should never fly in flip flops. Here are five family-safety tips from my peeps:
- Don’t put your car seats on high surfaces. Car seats tend to fall off tables and couches. It happened to my friend Joanne. Her baby flipped from the coffee table to the floor in seconds. Ouch.
- Create your own family disaster plan. Because one time, Wendy told me that she watched the Oakland Hills burn from her college dorm room. Now that you’re someone’s mom, you gotta be prepared! I hadn’t updated mine since 2009 but I did it this morning.
- Teach toddlers to cross the street silently. VDog told us this and she knows from being a nanny. She’s hella smart.
- Baby-proof a hotel room (or in-law’s house) with duct tape. Carry along a little kit to keep your kids safer on the go. Debbie takes her three young children everywhere and knows how to tie it back and strap it down.
- Role play to teach little ones about fire safety. Rookie Mom Whitney, queen of the costume box, knows how to get the kiddos to stop, drop, and roll. Do you?
What lessons have you learned the easy way (by watching your friends make mistakes)?
I’m afraid that if I teach my son to “stop, drop and roll” if he catches on fire, he’ll light himself on fire just so he can do it! Just kidding…kind of…
And also, just to throw it in, your blog and Debbie’s are the best. I read posts in the Google Reader AND visit both websites every day. If ever there were two blogs to keep you sane as a (traveling) mom, these are it 🙂
The duct tape advice is sooo handy! Thank you!!!
The best one I ever learned was what I call the “parking lot balance beam”. When the little ones get out of the car the all hop on the “balance beam” … the white line between parking spots. They are free to walk back and forth, stand on one foot, stand on tiptoes, but can’t fall off the beam. It keeps them safely out of traffic and entertained while getting them and everything else in or out of the car.
You’re too cute.
Great tips!
Thanks for the tips! I have a lot to do/learn.
Why don’t you fly wearing flip flops? I love wearing flip flops when going through security!
Heather, flip flops are great for walking through security but they’re no good in the case a real emergency (evacuation) or running for a flight.