It’s common sense, and every parent tries to protect their child from harm. Sharp objects are usually the first things we teach them about being safe – not getting hurt. Don’t play with scissors, touch knives, etc.
However, accidents happen. Did you ever have a sibling or friend get a hold of a pair of scissors and chop off a chunk of their hair? Maybe it was you! You look away for a moment, and there’s no telling what a child will do with a pair of scissors. Their natural curiosity takes over, and they want to experiment. Children often believe they are invincible – they can’t get hurt. They just think that “it won’t happen to them”. That’s why we are there to protect them, and keep them safe from harm.
How to decrease the chance your child gets his/her hands on something sharp:
1. Keep dangerous objects out of their reach. Of course, this will change as they grow and climb, so you will need to keep up with that.
2. Put baby locks on all cabinets or drawers containing sharp objects. Don’t use a wood block to hold your kitchen knives, keep them in a locked drawer.
3. Keep sharp things somewhere where your child wouldn’t go, such as in your bedroom.
4. The bathroom is often the place where children find sharp objects. Keep razors, scissors, and other sharp things in your bathroom out of their reach. Buy a suction hanger you can keep these items in that sticks to your shower wall – hang it up high.
These are just some tips to keep sharp objects out of your child’s hands. Even children’s scissors can cut, so supervision is almost always needed when using those. When you know they are using scissors carefully, and understand the dangers, less supervision is needed. This usually happens around the ages of five to seven.
I am very careful and maybe sometimes a little overprotective with my children. My daughter, Aryanna, who just turned four in December, has a fascination with scissors. She has a variety of children’s scissors. She loves to cut paper, especially into very small pieces. A while ago, she cut her hand even though I was watching her. It happened in an instant. It wasn’t bad at all, but it did scare her and me! She was screaming about the little specks of blood on her hand, but I know it didn’t hurt, because she didn’t flinch when I washed it with soap. She is now much more careful with her scissors, and pays attention to what she is doing.
Sometimes an accident with sharp objects can happen even when we take every precaution possible. Do what you can to keep them out of reach, and teach them about how sharp things shouldn’t be touched because it can hurt them. Hopefully, they won’t have to find out the hard way!