Creating a Safe Environment for Children

Creating an environment where a child feels safe is pivotal for the health and wellbeing of the children you are looking after. This post will explain why safety, in the physical, emotional and psychological sense, is important for children and actionable ways you can ensure your environment is safe for your child. Most importantly – as a nanny or parent, you cannot prevent your child from all risks but you can help guide your child in navigating these risks with support and assistance when they need.

Want to know what qualifications to complete as a Nanny? Read our post on How to get a Job as a Nanny

Why creating a safe environment is important:

From birth, children have a physiological and biological need to feel safe. The concept of safety is broad and can cover feeling both emotionally and physically safe. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a philosophical theory describing what a human needs to reach their full potential, describes safety as how secure a child feels within their homes, schools or other environments they are within.

If you are interesting in becoming Ofsted registered (See post ‘How to Become a Nanny‘), it is imperative the childcare environment is stimulating, challenging, and, above all, safe, to reach Ofsted requirements. However, even if you are not registering with Ofsted, your environment should align with these characteristics as well to create an optimal, safe and nurturing environment for the children you are nannying.

What does it mean for an environment to be safe?

Safety: creating a state in which, or a place, where one is not at risk of danger or harm

Physical Safety: Assessing physical risks or dangers around the child which could cause harm e.g. choking hazards, sharp edges or trip hazards.

Psychological Safety: the amount of trust a child has with the people around them, how vulnerable they can be and how they feel freely expressing themselves are examples of factors determined by how emotionally and psychologically safe they feel. By ensuring the child you are nannying feels psychologically and emotionally safe as well as physically safe creates a holistic approach for creating a safe environment.

How to create a safe environment:

When considering the environment you are creating it is important to consider a few things:

You only have control over the environment you create when you are with the child.
It is also important to discuss with the parent(s) or carers on what sort of environment they want to create for the child so that your approaches are cohesive and not causing unnecessary disruption for the child.
As a nanny, you should consider accessing some form of safeguarding training to be aware of the signs and signals to domestic, physical and emotional abuse.

Below are some examples of how to create an environment which is both physically safe and psychologically and emotionally safe:

From a physical safety perspective:

Ensure you assess the risks with each activity you are doing with your child. This doesn’t mean you have to write out a detailed risk assessment for each activity you are completing with the child but it means having awareness of what potential risk their is throughout this activity.
- For example: If you are making banana bread with your child: you would need to consider that the oven will be hot, the surfaces the child is mixing on may be higher than the child can reach and there may be sharp knives and equipment involved. To make this environment safe you can bring awareness to each of these risks to the child, e.g. ‘Be careful, the oven is hot.’ and ‘Knives are sharp, so we have to make sure we hold them by the handle’; you can find a stable step stool for the child so they can participate, or move the mixing bowl to their own surface they can reach and you can actively guide the child with a sharp knife by placing your hand on top of theirs when using it, or using a child’s knife to encourage independence in the process.

Child locks and corner protectors. This is something parents would have normally sorted so you shouldn’t have to but in the rare instance you may need to, child locks on cupboards, fridges, doors and drawers will be a life saver in many situations. Equally, corner protectors on sharp corners can create an added layer of safety – especially if they are a toddler – as they can prevent severe injury if they fall.

Safety gates. This is is something the parents should have organised but if not safety gates are definitely an essential in areas they may be hazardous such as certain rooms, areas of the house and staircases safer places.

Don’t use plug covers (UK Specific) – Due to how UK plugs are set up, it can actually be more dangerous to use plug covers.

From a psychological and emotional perspective:

Being aware of a child’s responses to situations – Always ask yourself – why might my child be responding/behaving/acting in this way?

Think about it like this: at the end of the day your child spills their glass of milk, they kick and scream and tantrum and your automatic response is to tell them off for this response.

However, throughout their day someone stole a pencil off them, their friend left them out whilst they were playing a game, someone they weren’t expecting picked them up from school – although these things may not seem significant to an adult, to a child, these are all disruptions that happened throughout their day which caused instability for them and the milk spilling was the last thing to tick them off. Although not always easy, in this situation it is best to meet a child with compassion, patience and reassurance that their feelings are valid.

Active listening – pay attention to your child when they are talking to you and completing an activity. Kids absorb EVERYTHING. So it is important they feel heard and attended to in all instances.

Getting down to a child’s level when you are speaking to them – this can reassure a child you are on their level both literally and figuratively, instead of being above them.

Outdoor play opportunities – ensuring you are providing your child with opportunities to go outside, learn about nature and play within it can be beneficial both physically and psychologically. This can be as little as going out in the garden or as big as some time in a national park (depending on your resources). Top Tip: take your child outside in ALL weather – this teaches them that no weather is ‘bad’ weather and can reduce chances of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in adulthood.

Play that will encourage and suits their level of development – activities should be suitable for the development of the child you are looking after. If you give a child an activity that is way too ambitious for their age they may feel defeated or unseen, equally if you give a child an activity that is very easy for them, they won’t feel challenged enough. It is important you know where your child is at and meet them there with appropriate activities.

Socialisation – providing access to play groups, play grounds, activity clubs and other activities as such, encourage your child’s social and socio-emotional skills. Equally, it can reduce feelings of isolation, especially if your child is not yet in school. It can also encourage children to learn everyone’s differences and learn different things from other children.

These are some key examples and suggestions of how children can be kept safe both emotionally and physically. The most important thing to remember is that children’s safety is not left simply to physical safety, but they have a biologically need to feel safe and held emotional and psychologically.

What to do if you feel your child is in an unsafe environment:

If you feel your child may be in an unsafe situation in the home, their school or any environment they attend do not hesitate to discuss this with the family (if you feel safe to do so) and/or contact your local abuse helplines and/or social services. This could be in relation to any form of abuse, neglect or emotional manipulation. It is important to remember that safeguarding, when working with children, is everyone’s responsibility.

Safeguarding resources:

The Safeguarding Network – The Safeguarding Network provide a multitude of helpful resources which can help you familiarise yourself with different safeguarding risks within the home and at school.
NSPCC – The NSPCC provide resources and informational articles about safeguarding and different safeguarding situations you may encounter.
The Safeguarding Resource & Support Hub – The Safeguarding RSH provides information and trainings in 10 different languages so you can make sure you’re receiving this important information in the best way for you.

Safeguarding helplines:

If you think your child is in immediate danger, please call 999 (or your local emergency services number) imminently. In cases where your child is not in immediate danger, please consult the resources below:

NSPCC Helpline – you can call: 0808 800 5000 or email: help@NSPCC.org.uk or follow the link to their webform.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline – this is particularly for reporting concerns about women and children who are victims of abuse – The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Safeline – providing services to prevent sexual violence and abuse against children. You can call them on 01926402498 to report any concerns.
Your local social services which can be found through a quick google searching “(Insert local borough e.g. Tower Hamlets Council) Social Services” and they will have a unique reporting platform.

Note: these are UK based helplines

Key safety take-aways:

One of your key responsibilities as a nanny is keeping your child physically and psychologically safe whilst they are in your care.
There are different ways to keep a child safe: physically and psychologically.
If you have any safeguarding concerns about a child, don’t hesitate to contact the relevant advice lines or speak to the child’s family if it is safe to do so.
Make sure you are on the same page as the parents on their safety values so you can ensure the child has consistency.
Most importantly: Whilst safety is important to consider, it is also important the child has fun and the freedom to make mistakes and learns from these mistakes, with the proper guidance on hand when needed. Safety isn’t always about stopping a child from doing something, it is about guiding them through any situation in a considered and safe way.

Contents:

Why creating a safe environment is important:

What does it mean for an environment to be safe?