HOME ALONE — IS YOUR CHILD READY?
Deciding if your child is ready to stay home alone is an important milestone every parent will face. It’s natural for a parent to worry when leaving their kids unsupervised. Although this concern will never fade away completely, you can prepare yourself and your children for this day with some planning.
Establish clear ground rules to keep them safe and trust they will follow those rules.
So, you’ve asked your child if they feel comfortable being home alone, and they say yes. Here’s what you can do to prepare your child for this new experience and responsibility.
Important things you should consider: • Child’s Age: Do you believe your child is mature enough to stay home alone? Will they be able to care for themselves and their younger siblings? Can they respond to an emergency? There isn’t a set age when children are ready to be home by themselves. It depends on your judgment and whether you’ve seen signs your child is prepared for that responsibility. • How Long You’ll Be Gone: Will you be out of the house for a couple of hours or all day? For the first time leaving your child alone, you only want to be gone for a few hours. This will help you see if they are ready to take on this responsibility and how they feel about being alone. • Safety Awareness: Would your child remember and follow the safety rules? Can they make good judgment calls on their own? Do they have common sense?
• Leave Emergency Contacts: Write down your and your spouse’s cell and work numbers in case your child needs to contact either of you. You can also list out other relatives they can contact if needed. Keep this list in a place where it’s easily accessible such as the refrigerator. • Plan for “What if” Scenarios: Inform your child about what to do if there is a fire, storm, medical issue, or a stranger comes to the door. Make sure they understand the solutions and can follow them without question. Also, leave an emergency first-aid kit with them. Don’t worry; their experience won’t be like Kevin McCallister’s in the famous Christmas comedy “Home Alone.” By communicating with your adolescent and preparing properly, they are one step closer to fulfilling new responsibilities and taking the first step into adulthood.
KEEPING OLDER DRIVERS SAFE ON THE ROADS
How Driving Risks Increase With Age
National Older Driver Safety Awareness Week is the first full week of December (6–10), dedicated to ensuring the roads are safe for the older drivers among us. As we age, we experience several challenges, such as decreased eyesight, impaired hearing, sleep disorders, and physical disabilities that can make driving more difficult. Aging also tends to reduce strength, coordination, and flexibility, which affects a person’s ability to control a vehicle safely. In most cases, it’s necessary for older people to drive because they cannot walk long intervals or distances. But the risk of an automobile accident increases for older drivers, which unfortunately leads to severe injuries or even death. When should someone stop driving? Many people wonder at what age they should consider no longer driving, but it truly depends on the person and their performance on the road. Generally, people should start preparing for life away from the steering wheel around 85. Around that time, even the healthiest of people will experience slow reaction time and trouble with eyesight or hearing.
You can take precautions before giving up driving altogether, and they include the following:
• Avoid driving at night and in bad weather. • Drive only in familiar places. • Drive only within a certain radius of home. • Stay off of highways. • Limit distractions while driving by turning off the radio and other noises, avoiding conversations with people in the car, and not texting or using a cellphone. Why is older driver safety awareness important? This dedicated week aims to promote the importance of mobility and transportation to ensure older individuals remain active in the community. Whether working, volunteering, or shopping, older adults deserve to be confident that transportation issues will not limit them. Driving is a necessary part of most people’s lives. Yet, it is one of the most dangerous activities we do. Bringing awareness to the risks older drivers face is one of the best ways to ensure everyone is safe on the roads. In turn, they can still have independence while doing what they enjoy most!
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