MOTHER CHILD SEPARATIONJemma and I have discussed many times how we stay safe in public places. It is her goal to always be able to see me. When I call for her, she is to immediately answer, “Here I am!”. If she can’t find me, she waits where she is and watches for another mommy to ask for help. We’ve also talked about asking a worker to page me, hence Jemma has learned my full name. Next up, we are practicing my phone number.With Max, more of my fear lies in who would care for him if I was in the hospital or unable to be with him. He is super attached to me and we’ve yet to be separated for more than 6 hours … which was only once so far. We have a plan in place of who would tend to him at night and if he needed, where we would obtain breast milk to comfort him.
WATER SAFETYJemma is starting swim lessons next month, so right now all of our water safety has revolved around being safe in the bath. We practice sitting on our bottom so we don’t fall and most recently Jemma has learned how to pull the plug and drain the water by herself.CAR ACCIDENTSUh … car accidents are my nemesis. I researched car seats like crazy and have been nothing more than pleased with our Diono Radian. They have a steel frame which makes them extremely safe and durable. They’ve even been coined the “orphan seat” thanks to children surviving in otherwise fatal accidents – awful, but safe. In the case that I’m unable to speak or help in an accident, I created information tags for Jemma and Max’s seats so emergency workers would have pertinent information about them. I included …
I added an out of state contact because we’re in earthquake country and sometimes in bad earthquakes all the local lines get tied up. The favorites is where I listed their favorite color, character, song, etc. A bit of information that might calm them down if they felt scared.
FIRE SAFETY
Fire safety isn’t something we have worked much on. It’s on my to do list. She knows that fire is hot and that matches aren’t to be played with; that if she ever sees fire to yell for help. I’m actually planning a homeschool unit about making safe choices and our field trip will be to the fire house to see a fireman or woman in their uniform so they don’t appear frightening.
![Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama](https://i0.wp.com/i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/lintpicker/CNPnaturalparent.jpg)
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- I Don’t Homeschool to Manage My Kids’ Transcripts — One of Dionna at Code Name: Mama’s fears of parenting is that she will get so caught up in the monotony, the details of homeschooling, the minutiae of everyday life, the routine of taking care of a household – that she will forget to actually be present in the moment with her children.
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I don't think so! I recently read about the idea and decided to get on it! Granted, I made and printed the tags month or two ago and just taped them on last week so I could feel confidenthitting publish on this post :)
I have a window fire ladder in my second story bedroom. It came with my house, so I didn't actually *do* anything myself, but it still makes me feel smart and prepared. ;-) We have lots of different things to prepare for various emergency situations – fire extinguishers, a generator, guns, stored water and food, first aid supplies. During the cold months I keep extra warm clothes in my truck because I once got stuck in the snow and had to walk several miles. I don't think of these as calming my fears, exactly. I just like to be prepared for things. I find it satisfying and enjoyable to imagine different scenarios and plan for them.
Ha! These are good reminders about what I should maybe put some energy into doing. I have been very negligent about most of this, simply because, well, who knows! So thanks for reminding me that I need to get on this!
Nice work! You were quick on that!
So many of my fears are things I don't have control over so doing a little something to make them less scary helps me reduce the control those fears have over me. We'll see if it actually works if I ever encounter these :)
We had a minor rear end this fall and Jemma STILL talks about the policeman who came to our car. I can only imagine how scared Sylvi was! Is she still talking about it? Has she connected that they were there to help her even though she was scared?
All in good time :)
Clothes in the winter is so smart! I've heard that those thin heat blankets are really good too! As a kid I always wanted one of those fire ladders – I should research those now that we live in a 2 story.
We have Radians and there is a label on the side that says "Emergency Information On Back". Max is rearfacing so I taped his on the back. Jemma is forward facing though so I actually taped hers on the side, over one of the installation Warning labels (since we have the full manual for installation reference). I figure if they see Jemma's on the side, they'll know to look for one for Max too.
I love your proactive steps … what a positive way to address your fears. And the car seat emergency tag is an awesome idea! :)
I am curious to where on the carseat you put this? I would be fearful that someone would see into my car and get the information. Maybe a bit *over crazy* but that is what came to mind when I saw it, other than , of course, that it is a great idea!
Max's is on the back of his rear facing seat – there is a little ATTENTION sticker on the side that says there is emergency info on the back. Jemma's is taped on the side, kind of peeking out of the cover, but it's on the side that touches Max's seat so I think someone would have to break into the car to get a clear look at all the details. Good thought though since the whole point of it is being extra vigilant about safety!