As a parent, you have the incredible responsibility of rearing your children. With so many moving parts that encompass the role, it’s easy for certain lessons to fall out of importance. However, electrical safety isn’t one of those lessons to skip. While it can be done in increments as the children progress in age, it’s still a subject to remain vigilant in teaching. By becoming intentional in your process of teaching electrical safety, you can potentially save your child’s life. To methodically approach this subject, consider these five best practices to develop.
1. Create a Focused Curriculum at Home
First, it’s a great idea to curate your own curriculum around the subject of electricity. The curriculum doesn’t have to feel laborious or boring. When it’s fun and memorable, your children are more likely to learn the lesson. Create a curriculum around electrical safety in a few ways. For starters, you don’t want to scare your children, but it can be helpful to share cautionary tales. Keep it age-appropriate and avoid graphic details. However, talk about what happens in a thunderstorm and how to maintain safety in their interactions with electrical appliances. Teach them about the reasons why outlet covers are helpful. Show them how to safely plug and remove appliances cords from the walls.
As you teach them new lessons, give them small quizzes as they go. As they do well on the quizzes, offer treats to incentivize the experience. In the same way that children practice fire drills at school to know how to handle the real thing, randomly quiz your children on electrical safety. This will help them to know what to do in the case of a real emergency. Also, random quizzes will also help them to know what to do to completely avoid an emergency.
2. Lead by Example
At one point in history, children were meant to be seen and not heard. During that era, children were supposed to do as their parents told them to do. A popular saying was “Do as I say and not as I do.” While that might’ve worked in some cases, it’s not the most effective parenting tactic anymore. This is mainly because parents are the first examples for their children. Children will inherently be more inclined to copy what they see their parents do.
Knowing this, make sure you’re implementing electrical safety precautions at home. If you’re teaching your children how to safely remove an outlet from the socket, they shouldn’t see you yanking your phone charger out of the wall. If you’re preparing a smoothie for your family, don’t turn the blender on and leave the room. Though it might seem simple, an appliance can cause a lot of damage if it malfunctions when no one is present to care for it. Even though it might seem more convenient to enjoy a few shortcuts, electrical safety precautions are important and need to be strictly followed.
3. Weave Lessons Through Story Time
If you want to reiterate a lesson to a child, one of the most effective ways to do it is through a story. If you’ve already developed a habit of reading aloud to your child, you’re in great shape. The habit is already in motion, so you can switch over to subject matters that you want your children to absorb. In this case, look for children’s books that discuss various aspects of electrical safety. Make sure the books you choose are appropriate for your child’s grade levels.
Consider two tactics when you’re looking to incorporate story time into the day. You can start by reading a book to your children during their breakfast meal or during lunch. If you have school-aged children, consider reserving story time for weekend lunches. Another great time to read aloud is at bedtime. If they’re able to read, encourage them to read the story to you. As they enjoy a bedtime story, they’re also learning about the right habits to implement for electrical safety.
4. Act Out Scenarios During Playtime
Sometimes, the dramatic lessons are the ones that are most fun-filled and memorable. Create a dramatic game by implementing different scenarios. Grab a stack of index cards. On each index card, write down a scenario that challenges your child to figure out what they’d need to do when they’re in a specific situation. Situations can include using a blow dryer when a thunderstorm begins, removing a laptop charger from the outlet, or where to safely fly a kite.
You can also allow your children to play a game like Pictionary or Guesstures using words that you’ve taught in the electrical safety curriculum. If you have a large chalkboard or a dry erase board, allow everyone to use large markers to illustrate or act out certain words within a minute or 30 seconds. Words like “socket” and “power line” are great for illustrations or for acting out. As you incorporate games and make them fun, it’ll become easier for the children to retain the information, remember the lessons in important times, and act accordingly.
5. Take Advantage of Online Resources
The internet is one of the biggest wonderlands for parents because it provides thousands of results on any given topic. Do some searching to uncover resources surrounding electrical safety for children. Look through sites like YouTube and Pinterest to find various instructional videos and graphics that are specifically for children. If you do a video search on a streaming platform, you might find content that teaches children more about electricity, its impact, and how to remain safe with it. Pinterest is an excellent place to visit to find activities and graphics for children to learn any subject.
Most children love the process of creating artwork. Whether they’re painting, coloring, or drawing, children tend to enjoy learning through this creative process. Look online for artists who will create graphics they can color in or paint over. If you visit any freelance artist platform, you’ll find illustrators who will be willing to create illustrations and email them as PDFs. You can print the PDFs at home and use them when you’re ready to teach another lesson on electrical safety.
As you begin the process of teaching your children about electrical safety, it’s totally okay to admit when you don’t know all the answers. For example, when you’re experiencing electrical issues in your home, don’t try to fix them on your own. Teach your children the importance of hiring certified professionals. In a way, this can be a process for you and your children to learn more about the best practices to maintain within the household. Embrace the learning process as you and your family grow together in your understanding of all things related to electricity.
At Arc Angel Electric, we offer electrical installation, maintenance, and repair to residents of Cumming, GA, Bluffton, SC and the surrounding areas as well as surge protection and generator services for all your electrical safety needs today. Contact us today!
