01/05/2024
Walking to school with my youngest today and we used it as an exercise to give her the confidence to start walking to school and back on her own next school year (year 6 - how did that happen?).
She walked in front of me using our usual route and made decisions on when it was safe to cross the road, where to stand at the kerb to see oncoming traffic and how to deal with crossing at junctions. She was able to make great decisions and only had to look at me for confirmation on a couple of occasions (and each time her decision was the correct choice).
Simple games like this are an ideal way to build confidence, self-belief, awareness and resilience and cost nothing in terms of effort or time in your daily routine.
Another game you can play to teach social awareness and skill when they are old enough is to have your child do the shopping for a few items. You, as the trusted adult, would shadow from a safe distance so the child knows they have a safety net but let them do everything safely and learn valuable skills - they will learn money management, people awareness, social etiquette in addition to personal safety skills so it's a win-win.
Put the two exercises together and quickly your young person will have the confidence and skills to go to the corner shop on their own if needed.
Really proud of her today - still not sure I want her walking on her own though - that's our time to chat about her life and I'll miss that interaction.
