Preschooler safety: what to expect

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Your preschooler is into general gymnastics as part of testing all the fabulous skills that she now has – climbing higher, running faster, jumping from greater heights. Confidence is soaring at this age, sometimes faster than coordination and balance can keep up.

Playing outdoors is an important part of your preschooler's development. She needs space to run and cartwheel and jump and climb, and she will love playgrounds that challenge different skills.

Your child at this age will also be drawn to riding things with wheels, which means you can expect a few more falls, bumps and scrapes. Your job is to help her use her new skills in a way that is safe, and with the appropriate safety equipment, like helmets and knee and elbow pads.

Your preschooler continues to have an insatiable interest in water – playing in it, rolling in it and scooping it. You can help her have great fun with water, and protect her from drowning – the greatest risk at this age.

Providing a safe environment for your child to explore, and keeping a close eye on her, are important at this age. The good news is that you can also teach her more about safety than when she was younger. You can reinforce existing safety messages and teach her about new areas such as road safety and what to do in an emergency.

The main areas to think about are:

• preventing falls, including at playgrounds
• preventing poisoning
• having safe fun around water 
• safety in cars 
• scalds and burns
• safety with bicycles, scooters and other wheeled toys.

Things you can do to keep your preschooler safe

Around the house

• Encourage your child to sit while eating: at a table or on the floor is fine. Children are more likely to choke if they eat while they are running around or playing.
• Nuts can choke a child: it is usually not safe for children to eat nuts until they are five years of age, and not at all if they have an allergy.
• To prevent poisoning, keep everything that could hurt or poison your child out of reach. Lock up or get rid of any household items inside or outside that could poison her.
• To prevent cuts, keep everything sharp out of reach, either at the back of benches, or in drawers with child-resistant locks.
• To prevent burns, keep guards around fires and heaters, and keep reminding your child what is not safe to touch. Use the backburners on the stove. Turn pan handles towards the back of the stove. Keep kettles, teapots and cords for electric kettles and pans up on the bench, out of reach.
• To prevent falls, wipe up spills on floors, keep play areas clear of furniture or rugs that might cause tripping, and remind your child where she can safely run and climb, whether inside or outside.
• Avoid bunk beds until your child is nine or so, and make sure that younger children do not climb up and fall.

In and around water

• Make sure that an adult is always with your child when she's near water, whether it's at the beach or at a swimming pool (including a friend’s or relative’s pool).
• Now is a good time to teach your child the basics of swimming and rules for swimming safely (such as, ‘Never go into the pool without telling me’). Make sure she knows what to do if she gets into trouble.

Out and about

• Now is the time to start building a lifetime of safe habits; teach your child about road safety and what to do in an emergency.
• Constantly reinforce safety around cars and, if you can, set up a safe play area in the backyard, fenced off from the driveway.
• Use a booster seat to keep your child safe in the car and consider using this until she is at least four.
• Find a safe area such as your backyard or a park so that she can learn how to ride bikes, scooters and other wheeled toys. Make sure she has the right safety helmets and protective wear such as elbow and kneepads for whatever activity she's into.
• Always take your child out of the car with you, even if you're only popping into a shop for a moment. Leaving her in a car, even on an overcast day, is like leaving her in an oven.
• Look for playgrounds that give your child lots of challenging and safe new activities, and stay close to her as she tests her physical limits.

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