It's hard for children to understand the reasons for the rules and limits that we set for them. That's why they need adults to provide caring supervision - stopping them at the curbside, fastening their seat belts before driving a car, having them wear helmets when they ride a trike. Gradually children will learn to follow the rules by themselves. Here are some things you can do with your child to set the stage for safe behavior:

Talk About Safety

Talk with your child about ways to keep safe around the home and out in the community. For instance:

• Explain that traffic lights can let us know when it is safe to go and when to stop.
  
• When there is no stop sign or traffic light, we keep safe when we stop and look both ways for cars.
  
• Wearing seat belts in the car is a way to stay safe if the car stops suddenly.
  
• Wearing bicycle helmets keeps children safe in case they fall.
  

Most parents find that it's enough to say, "I don't want you to get hurt." Talking about possible accidents in graphic detail can make children overly fearful.

Help Your Child With Feelings About Rules

Children may have strong feelings about following rules, especially rules they don't understand. Giving them a chance to talk about those feelings can be a way of managing them.

• Let your child know you care about his or her feelings, but that safety rules are important. You can say something like, "You don't have to like the rule, but you still have to go along with it."
  
• Humor sometimes helps, like if you sing "Don't Fence Me In" when your child doesn't want to wear a seatbelt.
  
• Let your child know that it can be confusing when rules seem to change. Talk with your child about times when it is all right to do something and times when it is not - like singing loudly is okay when the baby is awake, but not when the baby is sleeping.
  

Play Games that Help Your Child Develop the Ability to Stop

Red Light, Green Light: Put on some music and have your child stop when the music stops. Take turns and let your child stop the music while you stop your actions.

Dot-to-Dot Designs: Connecting dots to make a picture can help children develop self-control. They have to control the way the pencil goes and follow the order of the numbers.

Play Roads: Draw a road on a large piece of paper and let your child use toy cars. See if he or she can stay on the line you have drawn. If this is too hard, use a double line and see if your child can stay between the lines as he or she moves the car.