Child Safety Tips for Ages 1 to 6: A Parent's Guide

Child safety between ages one and six comes down to three things: close supervision, a home arranged so that common dangers are out of reach, and simple safety rules taught early. What changes with age is the risk. For a toddler it is water, burns and falls; for a preschooler it is roads, vehicles and people. This guide covers each age in turn.

People give parents plenty of parenting tips, all based on their personal experience. This more often than not includes safety tips for the kids. To me, parenting is effective only when every child in a home gets adequate care, is happy and healthy, and the ambience is good enough for them to grow and develop well.

For a family in Indore, safety also has a local side: the daily scooter ride, traffic on the bypass, a first school bus, and the monsoon months. All of these are covered below.

What are the key parenting habits for a child's healthy development?

Before we come to safety, these six habits are the ones I find matter most for a child's healthy development:

• Respond as the child expects
• Show concern and warmth
• Make routines and in-house rules
• Talk to your child and share books
• Keep an eye on health and child safety
• Ensure discipline without being harsh

I strongly feel that practicing the above will ensure the child's good health, safety, and successful emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social development. In this write-up, we shall focus on child safety only.

How do a child's safety needs change between 1 and 6 years?

The risks move from inside the home to outside it as your child grows. This table gives the short version; the details for each age follow.

Age	Main risks	Start with
1 to 2 years	Water, stairs, burns, electric sockets, swallowing harmful things	Constant watch near water, stair gates, socket covers, locked cupboards
2 to 3 years	Choking, broken toys, hot drinks, running into danger	Feeding only while seated, removing broken toys, no hot drinks with the child on your lap
3 to 5 years	Balconies and terraces, two-wheeler and bus travel, getting lost, unsafe touch	Name and phone number, helmet and harness, body-safety rules, a fixed pick-up list
5 to 6 years	Roads, cycling, outdoor play, water, unsafe people	Road rules, safety gear, supervised swimming, knowing which adults to trust

A. Child Safety for Toddlers – 1 to 2 Years

When the child starts walking with his tiny little feet, balancing and falling and getting up again and sometimes running, it is a great sight of joy for all parents. Enjoy it. But this is a time when, as parents, you should keep a great vigil on your child, because there will be many occasions when they may walk into dangerous situations or objects that might cause injury. I am giving below certain tips that will help you in ensuring the better safety of your little one.

• The World Health Organization reports that drowning rates are highest among children under five, and that drowning is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide for children aged 1 to 4. So you must not leave your toddler near or around water (for example, bathtubs, pools, ponds or lakes) without you or someone watching her. At home, a filled bucket, a tub or an open water tank is risk enough.
• Since they can walk and move around, try climbing stairs or opening and shutting doors or gates, they may injure themselves. Hence, it would be best to block off stairs with little temporary gates. Keep locked the way to risky places like the kitchen, backyard etc.
• These kids are very curious and like to explore new things. The holes in the electrical sockets are among these things. They can easily insert their little fingers in these holes. To avoid accidents, you must cover all unused electrical sockets and plug points, especially those within your child's reach.
• The kids of this age are unaware of what things can hurt them. They like to touch and feel everything that they can lay their hands on. Keep kitchen appliances, irons, and heaters out of your baby's reach to avoid burn injuries.
• Sharp items, for example, scissors, blades, and pens, have often been reported to have caused serious injury to kids of this age. It would be best if you always kept such objects at a safe height that your child cannot reach.
• Kids of this age also tend to put things in their mouths. So you must keep medicines, household cleaners, poisons and inflammable objects under lock and key.
• Sometimes you may be out in your car, and your child is asleep, and you have to do some work that will likely take only a few minutes. You may have the urge to leave the child in the car to avoid disturbing him in his sleep. This will be a wrong decision. Even if it is for a very short period, never leave your child alone in a vehicle, whether he is awake or asleep.
• In the car, your toddler belongs in a child car seat fitted on the back seat, facing the rear of the car. Your child should remain in the rear-facing seat until she outgrows the height or weight limit set by its manufacturer. After that, she can travel in a forward-facing seat. Indian law expects this too: under Section 194B of the Motor Vehicles Act, a child below 14 must be secured by a safety belt or a child restraint system.

B. Child Safety – 2 to 3 Years

Your child, by now, has learned to move around, is unstoppable, and loves to run in all directions; they are likely to come across more dangers, and that too more frequently. Such situations can happen unexpectedly, with many chances of your child getting injured. If you have a child of this age, you must take extra care to ensure your child's safety. Here are certain safety measures that you can take:

• As I mentioned earlier, young children are at the highest risk of drowning. You must keep your child away from water bodies like bathtubs, pools, ponds, and lakes. If the child has to be near a water body, it should always be in the presence of a responsible adult who knows how to swim and can keep an eye on the child.
• I have seen on several occasions parents feeding their children while lying on the bed. Now, this is neither good nor correct. You must know feeding the child in this position can cause choking. Remember always to keep your child in a sitting position while feeding and chewing.
• Kids like to play with toys. In the process, the toys break too. You can always replace it with a new one, but if it is your child's favorite toy, you may find removing it difficult. Broken toys usually have sharp edges that can hurt your child. The loose part or a broken piece may be the size your child can swallow, which can be dangerous. You must always remove the toys with broken or loose parts to avoid accidents.
• While coloring, drawing, or writing, kids often tend to put pencils or crayons in their mouths. This is neither a healthy nor a safe habit. Discourage it by pointing out that she should not put pencils or crayons in her mouth when coloring or drawing.
• The kids of this age love to sit on their parent's laps. I have seen many parents having hot coffee or tea while the child is on their lap. Now, this, according to me, is dangerous. Never hold hot drinks in your hand when the child is on your lap. Accidental spills can hurt or even cause burns and injury to the child.

As said earlier, these kids must travel on the car's back seat, buckled into a child seat.

C. Child Safety – 3 to 5 Years

This is the age when most children start play school, ride a school bus or van for the first time, and spend a few hours a day away from you. Safety now has two parts: what you arrange around the child, and what the child learns to do for herself. Children this age learn by doing, through role-play, songs and games, the same way activity-based learning works in a classroom.

• Name and number. Teach your child her full name, your name, your phone number and the name of your colony. Practise it as a game. Keep a small card with your contact number in the school bag as well.
• Body safety. Teach the correct names of body parts and one clear rule: nobody touches the parts covered by underclothes, except to keep her clean or healthy. Tell her there are no secrets from Mummy and Papa, and that she will never be scolded for telling you. This rule applies to people she knows, not only to strangers.
• A fixed pick-up list. Decide which two or three adults may collect your child and give that list to the school. Teach her not to leave with anyone else, even a familiar face, unless you have told her so yourself.
• Two-wheelers. Many families do the school run on a scooter. The Central Motor Vehicles Rules now require a helmet and a safety harness for a child between nine months and four years riding pillion, and limit the vehicle to 40 km/h. Never let a child stand in front of the rider.
• Balconies, terraces and windows. A three-year-old can climb. Keep chairs, stools and coolers away from railings, fit grills where you can, and keep the terrace door locked.
• Small objects. Coins, button batteries and small magnets should stay out of reach. Children of this age still swallow things.
• Rainy months. Keep children away from waterlogged streets, open drains and wet switchboards. We have written separately about staying safe in the monsoon.
• Bus manners. Teach your child to stay seated while the bus is moving, keep hands inside, and wait for the attendant before getting down.

D. Child Safety – 5 to 6 Years

Your child's safety is no longer only your responsibility. As your child grows and becomes more independent with every passing day, you and the child must be aware of the safety needs. As your child moves out alone, this becomes even more important, as not everything would be in your control. So let us discuss certain very important safety factors to be kept in mind by you and your child.

• I strongly advocate you should educate your child about road safety. This I say as she will be more by herself on the roads on her bicycle or tricycle. Let your child know why they should keep away from traffic. Also, playing on the street or running after a stray ball is not safe and can cause accidents and injury.
• This is an age when kids love racing on their bicycles or tricycles, and speed excites them. Now neither you can nor should you stop your child from doing so. Giving him safety gear like a helmet and elbow and knee guards is advisable. This will keep them safe from injuries if they fall. Make your child ride inside the colony, in a park or on a footpath, away from the street and traffic. Let them know why they should do so.
• Kids of this age love being outdoors. Ensuring their safety is a great responsibility and a challenge as well. Keeping a watch on your child at all times is important, more so when the child is playing outdoors. Ensure the outdoor playing area is safe and there are no loose parts or sharp edges in the play equipment.
• Keep your child away from water bodies like swimming pools, water tanks, rivers etc. If you have to, never leave your child unwatched near water bodies. If you are teaching swimming, watch them at all times, whether in the pool or around it. Your child should learn swimming under the guidance of an expert swimmer only.
• Kids of this age cannot differentiate between good and bad people. They are very vulnerable and can easily fall into the trap of people with wrong intentions. Train your child not to go anywhere with anyone, or accept eatables from anyone, without your permission. This applies to people she knows as well as strangers. Tell her which adults she can go to for help. If you are ever worried about a child's safety, the government's Child Helpline 1098 works round the clock.
• Your child is still too small to ride in the front seat of your car. Kids of this age are not very stable. They keep moving their hands and legs. They can be a great distraction to the driver. Hence, keep your child on the back seat in a forward-facing child seat or booster, with the belt buckled up.

What should you check about safety at your child's school?

Once your child joins school, part of her day is out of your sight. Ask the school how children are handed over at dispersal, who travels with them on the bus, how much of the campus is under CCTV, and what happens if a child is hurt or unwell.

We have put the full list in a separate article: 15 safety questions every Indore parent should ask a school. Take it along on your school visits.

How does Mastermind School handle child safety?

At Mastermind School, all classrooms and the school premises are under CCTV, and arrival is recorded through RFID attendance. The buses are owned by the school, GPS-tracked and fitted with CCTV, and a female staff member travels on every bus. First aid is available on campus, with a doctor on call. The details are on our safety and transport page.

Children from Play Group to KG-II study at the Pre-Primary Campus in Bicholi Mardana, and Class 1 to 10 at Mastermind High School in Dudhia. Parents are welcome to see the CCTV room and look inside a bus during a visit.

Key Takeaways

• Between ages 1 and 3, safety is mostly about supervision and a childproofed home: water, stairs, sockets, hot things and medicines.
• Never leave a young child alone near water or alone in a vehicle, even for a few minutes.
• From age 3, start teaching: name and phone number, body-safety rules, and who may pick her up.
• In a car, a child below 14 must be secured by a seat belt or child restraint under Indian law.
• On a two-wheeler, a child aged nine months to four years needs a helmet and a safety harness.
• Safety rules about people apply to those the child knows, not only to strangers.
• Ask your child's school clear questions about buses, CCTV, handover and medical help.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the biggest safety risks for a toddler at home?

For children aged one to three, the main risks at home are water, falls, burns, electric sockets and swallowing medicines or cleaners. The World Health Organization notes that drowning rates are highest among children under five. Watch your toddler closely near any water, block the stairs, cover sockets, and lock away anything harmful.

Is a child car seat compulsory in India?

Section 194B of the Motor Vehicles Act says a child below 14 years must be secured by a safety belt or a child restraint system while travelling in a motor vehicle. For babies and small children, an adult seat belt does not fit properly, so a child car seat suited to their size is the practical way to follow this.

Can I take my toddler on a scooter or motorcycle?

Yes, but with conditions. Under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, a child between nine months and four years riding pillion must wear a crash helmet and be attached to the rider with a safety harness, and the vehicle must not go above 40 km/h. Do not let a child stand on the footboard in front of you.

When can my child move to a forward-facing car seat?

Keep your child rear-facing for as long as the seat allows. Each car seat carries a height and weight limit from its manufacturer; once your child crosses that limit, move her to a forward-facing seat, still on the back seat. Age alone is not the test, because children of the same age differ a lot in size.

At what age should I teach my child about safe and unsafe touch?

Start at around three years, in simple words. Teach the correct names of body parts, explain that nobody touches the parts covered by underclothes except to keep her clean or healthy, and tell her there are no secrets from parents. Repeat it calmly every few months. A child who knows she will be believed is far more likely to speak up.

Should I teach my child to be afraid of strangers?

Fear is less useful than a clear rule. Teach your child never to go anywhere, or accept food or gifts, without your permission, whoever is asking. Also teach her whom to approach if she is lost: a mother with children, a shopkeeper, a guard or a teacher. The rule should cover familiar people as well as strangers.

How do I childproof a flat for a child under three?

Go through the house at your child's eye level. Cover unused sockets, block the stairs, move medicines and cleaners to a locked cupboard, keep irons and hot vessels out of reach, and never leave a filled bucket or tub unattended. Keep furniture away from balcony railings and windows, since toddlers climb sooner than parents expect.

Is it safe to send a three-year-old to school by bus?

It depends on who is on the bus and how it is run. Ask whether an attendant travels on every trip, whether the bus is tracked, and how children are handed over. At Mastermind School, the buses are school-owned, GPS-tracked and fitted with CCTV, and a female staff member travels on every bus to help the youngest children.

Does the Mastermind School bus cover Kanadia?

Kanadia is part of the school's bus network in East Indore. Pickup points and timings are fixed route by route, so please contact the school office with your exact colony to confirm the nearest stop. The same safety arrangements apply on every route, including a female staff member on board.

Conclusion

Hope this reading will be of help to you in improving the safety standards of your little ones. Most of it costs nothing more than attention: a gate on the stairs, a locked cupboard, a helmet, and a few rules repeated until your child knows them by heart.

The age-wise tips here are drawn from the book 'Joy of Parenting' authored by Mr. Naveen Chowdhari, Director of Mastermind School, and have been updated with current Indian road-safety rules and WHO guidance.

Visit the Campus

If you are choosing a school for a young child, safety is best judged in person. Come and see how children arrive, move around the campus and board the bus at Mastermind School.

Book a campus visit or contact the school to speak with our team.