Outdoor safety tips for kids

Outdoor play

Playing outside gives your child the chance to explore the natural environment and have adventures. Kids can play favourite games, test their physical limits, express themselves and build self-confidence.

Outdoor play can also mean more mess – and more mess often means more fun!

When your child is outside, he or she probably has more space and freedom for big movements, like running, jumping, kicking and throwing. Physical activities like these are good for kids health, fitness and physical development.

Garden Safety for kids

Babies and toddlers love to explore gardens, and everything in the garden looks worth eating to them – snails, clumps of dirt, flowers and foliage, mushrooms, snail pellets.

Watching out for dangerous plants and poisonous plants can help you keep your child safe in the garden.

Gardens are generally safe and interesting places, and children often love spending time in them. But gardens aren’t always designed with children in mind.

Supervising your child is the best way to avoid danger in the garden or anywhere else, but this isn’t always possible. This means it’s very important to make the garden safe.

You can do this by avoiding growing poisonous plants and dangerous plants. Fence off or remove any suspect plants until your child is old enough to learn not to eat strange plants (usually at around the age of three years).

Bike, Scooters and Skateboards

Falling off is part of learning to ride bicycles, scooters and skateboards, so it’s important to know how to keep children safe once they start riding. Your child’s safety starts with protective gear, safety lessons and riding in safe places.

Here’s a list of safety basics to follow when your child is learning to ride bicycles, scooters and skateboards:

• Wear a helmet. Helmets are compulsory when riding bikes and scooters and recommended when riding skateboards.
• Use protective gear like wrist guards and knee pads when riding a scooter or skateboard.
• Teach your child to look carefully at the riding environment to decide whether it’s safe to ride.
• Give your child some practice in a safe area, like your backyard or a park, before heading onto the footpath or road.
• Always make sure a grown-up is with your child while she’s riding, until she’s at least 10 years old

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