🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🛡️ Safety Knowledge — Learning about personal safety, body autonomy, and when to ask for help equips children with the knowledge and confidence to protect themselves and seek adult support in challenging situations.
• 😴 Sleep & Rest Awareness — Understanding why sleep matters — for growth, learning, and mood — builds the value children place on rest and supports the bedtime compliance that adequate sleep (critical for brain development) requires.
• 🏃 Active Lifestyle Foundation — Understanding that regular physical activity keeps bodies healthy, strong, and happy establishes the health values that active preschoolers carry into adolescence and adulthood — where physical activity habits are much harder to establish.
• 🎯 Self-Care Independence — Practicing health-related self-care — managing bathroom needs, blowing their own nose, recognizing hunger and thirst — builds the practical independence and bodily awareness that school and daily life require.

Your preschooler has probably heard quite a few “no’s” when it comes to things that may cause physical danger so far in their short lives. As they grow, there is more for them to learn in terms of keeping safe in this fast world around them. Safety at home and preschool are top concerns for preschooler caretakers and parents. What are some of the things you can do to keep your preschooler safe?

1. The most important thing...watch your preschooler! Preschoolers are extremely active in exploring the world around them and are generally very mobile and quick. Many of these things are more dangerous than their young minds understand. Who hasn’t turned around to notice their preschooler has just sped away to some unknown place? Parental supervision is of the utmost importance and is as essential now as it was when your preschooler was an infant.

1. Fire Safety - Your child isn’t too young to learn about fire safety. Teaching them about the sounds of the smoke detector and knowing what to do if they smell smoke or hear the alarm go off is a great thing to know at a young age.
   

1. Bike Safety - Most likely your preschooler is fascinated by riding a bike. Of course, a helmet is a must and safety pads on the elbows and knees are also important.
   

1. Learning about Strangers - Though it’s a sad reality, children must learn early on about strangers and safety. Schools usually have programs on educating youngsters on being cautious, but talking to them as a concerned parent is an important reinforcement.
   

1. Sun Safety - Use sunscreen on your preschooler if they will be out and exposed for an extended period of time. Cover all exposed skin with sunscreen!
   

1. Food Safety - Cut food into bitable pieces for your preschooler to prevent choking hazards. There should be no running with food in their mouth.
   

1. Car Safety - There are laws about child car safety. Follow the laws and make sure you talk to your preschooler about being properly buckled and sitting cooperatively in a car seat.
   

1. Playtime Safety - Climbing is a fascinating activity for preschoolers. If your preschooler climbs inappropriately on high things in your home, putting the proper discipline for your child early on is important. Lock up any windows or access areas to high locations in your home like windows and stairways. If you don’t mind your child climbing trees and such, make sure you’re watching them when they do so and make sure they have limits in this activity. This is also important for playground safety.
   

1. Kitchen Safety - You may want to teach your preschooler to cook along with you, but you also have to teach them about kitchen safety to prevent being burned or cut. If your child doesn’t understand these concepts readily, block off the kitchen area until they do.
   

1. Household Safety - Lock up or keep out of reach all cleaning supplies and medications. Post a poison control number in a visible and easy to access location. Also make sure electric cords and outlets are properly stowed away and covered.
   

By: Pia Chaparro

Helpful Tips for Parents - Sun safety: seek shade between 10am–4pm, wear wide-brim hats, apply SPF 50+ sunscreen, wear UV-protective clothing. Childhood sunburns significantly increase melanoma risk in adulthood. - Preschoolers average 8–10 colds per year — this is normal and builds immunity. Frequent illness in a healthy preschooler is expected, not concerning. - Mental health monitoring in preschoolers matters. Persistent anxiety, sadness, regression, or aggression that interferes with daily life warrants a conversation with the child's pediatrician. - Lead exposure is still a significant risk in homes built before 1978. If your home was built before 1978, have it tested — lead paint poisoning has severe and permanent cognitive effects. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I teach my preschooler about personal safety (strangers, body autonomy)? Key personal safety concepts for preschoolers: body autonomy (your body belongs to you — no one touches you in a way that makes you feel bad or scared, and you tell a trusted adult); private parts (covered by a swimsuit) are private; the difference between secrets (bad — safe adults don't keep secrets from parents) and surprises (good — a birthday surprise that will eventually be revealed); and the circle of trust (who are your 5 trusted adults?). Role-play situations: "What would you do if...?" is more effective than lecture. These conversations should be calm, matter-of-fact, and repeated periodically. Related reading: See also our water safety guide and our nutrition guide for more ideas on this topic.