Alone at home

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Try to remember how old you were at home alone? Or maybe a more correct formulation would be"

But life isn't always on your side. It so happens that there is no way to hire a nanny, and grandparents are somewhere far away. Or they simply do not have the opportunity to sit with their grandson. Often these problems occur exactly in the summer period, when schoolchildren go on vacation, and there is no longer any way out in the form of an extension or extra classes. Yes, and preschoolers are "lucky" no less - most kindergartens also have their own "holidays". And mom and dad were not lucky - in the summer their cross is work and work again. The sacramental question: "What to do?"

First, don't panic or make hasty decisions like "I'm leaving work." Secondly, to soberly calculate ALL possible options for a way out of this situation, including even those that at first glance are absolutely unacceptable. What if relatives who have lived in another city for a long time, and with whom you see every three years, decide to come to visit you this summer?

Other possible options: negotiate with a friend who is temporarily not working; bypass neighbors and find a granny among them, who will not be hindered at all by a small increase in her pension; try looking in newspapers or on the Internet for the phrase "family kindergarten" (this is when a kindergarten is organized in your own home). Take the child to work for a few hours. Send him to summer camp at last.

If, for some reason, all of the above and even not listed does not fit into your situation, get used to the idea that the child will have to learn independence. It should be noted right away that the most suitable age for the experiment is 6-7 years. Psychologists believe that at this age the child is already completely in control of himself, knows the surrounding reality well and will even be proud that he is given such trust. A younger child can only be left on for 20-30 minutes. Naturally, "loneliness training" cannot be instantaneous. A kid who has spent his entire life in the company of parents and peers cannot be left alone for 8 hours. Better to act "incrementally": half an hour, an hour, two, if necessary - more. If a child does not want to be alone in any way, it is better to find alternative options than to treat him later with a child psychologist.

If there are no visible problems, then you need to clearly formulate the "safety rules". Which are as follows:

Dangers "technical"

No matter how confident you are that your child will know how to handle electrical appliances, and even more so, with gas, it is better not to do this. The electric stove can be turned off, the gas can be turned off. Naturally, remove the matches. Do not use (if it happens during the cold season) heaters, or turn them on at low power. Remove the toaster: this wonderful appliance is also famous for the fact that the refried pieces of bread burn wonderfully. Move the iron away - suddenly your child will feel the urge to iron the doll's clothes. In general, remove EVERYTHING that could cause a fire. Turning off the tap at the washing machine and dishwasher is also easy. Better to keep knives and even scissors away. And, of course, close all windows.

Dangers "psychological"

The second point regarding the safety of the child is a complete ban on admitting strangers into the apartment. Under no circumstances should the apartment be locked from the outside - the child should be able to leave the premises if necessary. This means that we will have to carry out a long explanatory work with the child on the above topic.

A child 6-7 years old, or even more, cannot be said: “You cannot!” Without backing it up with arguments. Indeed, what can the people who ring the doorbell do? Do not frighten the kid with horror at all - you will achieve only the opposite effect. The rule should apply to ALL, without exception! Uninvited militiamen, gas service and the Ministry of Emergency Situations must not be allowed into the house! Keep in mind that a child may confuse the voice outside the door, believing that it was "Uncle Seryozha" who came, and even looking through the peephole, it is not possible to determine exactly who is standing there on the dark staircase wearing a hat. It is permissible (however, every parents determine this for themselves) to ask a guest - of course, an acquaintance - to call the parents back at work or on their mobile so that they, in turn, give instructions on what to do on their home phone. It seems that what is simpler - acquaintances should not come without a preliminary call. However, in practice, everything is not so simple and smooth. You can get stuck in traffic for an hour, and your guests languish under the door at this time. In order to be absolutely sure that the child has understood how to behave, it is worth simulating such situations in advance. Oh, and by the way, a banal chain on the front door will not hurt either!

Unforeseen dangers

An accident may happen and the electricity or water will be cut off in the apartment. A child should ALWAYS have a flashlight if it happens in the evening. Putting a bottle of water in the bathroom or in the kitchen is also easy.

Another point is radiotelephones. We, adults, who are accustomed to having a mobile phone, do not pay attention to such annoying misunderstandings, but a child should always be able to call. Therefore, you need to have an ordinary device in the house (or a double one with the possibility of dialing at the base).

The kid should know all the numbers to which he will have to call in case of any danger. It's great if he remembers by heart even the phones of his cousins, but it's even better when all the NECESSARY numbers (and not all at all) will be written in the immediate vicinity of the phone - and better, if not on a piece of paper, but on the wall.

A few more nuances

Nutrition issue. All mothers want their child to eat normally and variedly, but combining this with turning off the stove is not very successful. There are two ways out - firstly, a microwave oven will help out, which the child can use easily and safely. It takes three minutes to show you how to reheat food and learn how to do it. Leaving for work, you leave the food prepared and laid out on a plate in the refrigerator, and the fumes will only have to warm it up. You just have to take care to remove the metal-coated dishes from the line of sight.

My son, accustomed to the fact that all the dishes in the house are ceramic or glass, somehow decided to cook cocoa in a mug with a metal rim that was presented to us. "Look, mom, how beautiful," he said thoughtfully, looking through the door of the stove - little blue sparks … But this was not the case before! " Needless to say, this mug immediately migrated into the unattainable bowels of kitchen cabinets.

Secondly, in addition to warmed food, there are many healthy foods such as yogurt, bread, and cereal with milk. Salads can also wait for their fate in the refrigerator. So, if the microwave disappears for some reason, one or two meals are quite real without it.

Reinsurance

Try to negotiate with neighbors who are at home, or come before you, that they will ask if everything is fine with the child. Call your child every hour, even if it is uncomfortable for you. Yes, there will be astronomical mobile bills, but does confidence in a child's safety come at a price?