The Georgia Early Learning Standards Activity Guides may - gapitc

Health and safety skills
Activities and Strategies
for Development
Safety Talk
Make it a habit to talk about safety even though your infants do not fully understand.
Talk about things being “safe” or “not safe.” Here are a few examples:
• When you see a child climb on a chair, talk about safety when you tell him
“It is not safe to climb on a chair. Chairs are for sitting. You can climb on the
climbing mats.”
• When you take away a broken toy with a sharp edge, tell how sharp edges
are “not safe.”
• When you practice a fire drill, talk about getting everyone out of the building
to “keep us safe.”
• When you buckle babies into an infant seat, talk about “keeping you safe” as
you do so.
Signal to Stop! (for an older infant)
When you see an infant approaching something dangerous, move quickly in the
child’s direction to stop her.
Develop a signal such as clapping at the same time you say “Alia, stop!” Clapping
and saying the child’s name should help get her attention and get her to pause to
give you a moment to reach her.
Pick her up and remove her quickly, but calmly, from the danger. Tell her in
simple terms what the danger was. For example, say “It will hurt if you put your
finger in the gate,” as you move her away.
Be prepared to repeat this every time an infant faces danger. The purpose of
a signal such as clapping and saying “stop” is to teach the meaning of “stop!”
But do not expect an infant to stop without your help or to avoid the same
danger in the near future. This takes repeated practice and careful supervision
on your part.
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