Are you the parent of a toddler or a preschooler?  If you are, do you have a swimming pool in your backyard?  If so, have you spoken to your child about pool safety?  If not, this is a step that you will soon want to take.

As for why you should discuss pool safety with your child, it can help to save their life.  What better reason is there?  In addition, children can retain information at a young age.  Of course, you will always want to offer reminders to your child, but it is never too soon to educate them about swimming pools and their dangers.  The more aware you make your child; the less likely you are to be faced with a difficult situation, which may include a fatality.

While it is important to discuss pool safety with small children, namely toddlers and preschoolers, you do not want to outright put fear in your child.  You will want them to enjoy the swimming pool, not fear it.  However, that enjoyment can only occur when you are right by their side.  That is why you will want to proceed with caution.

You can outright talk to your child about pool safety.  Let them know that they can be a lot of fun, but that they can also be dangerous.  For example, if your child doesn’t know how to swim, explain to them what would happen if they fall in.  You may want to refrain from brining death into the discussion, but it is your decision to make.  Speaking of not knowing how to swim, now is the time to either teach your child or sign them up for swim lessons.

Another effective approach to take is to show your child the pool.  Show them how deep it is and how dangerous that deep water can be.  Let them know that they are not allowed in the pool without you by their side.  You may also want to show your child that they can only go swimming with a swimsuit.  Of course, you will need to make sure that you keep that suit out of your child’s reach.  With this approach, they may be more likely to ask you to go swimming, as opposed to trying by themselves.

If you decide to walk your child out to the pool and discuss safety with them there, now is also the time to create boundaries.  If you have a pool fence installed, which you should, let your child know that they are not allowed to play too close to it.  Set an imaginary boundary and ask your child not to cross that point.  Once again, most toddlers and preschoolers are at the age where they should understand these types of directions.

As for teaching your child what to do in the event of an accident, like a fall in, there are a number of pros and cons to doing so.  Yes, you want your child to know what to do, but many parents are afraid this may provide their children with false confidence.  Some feel that they may encourage young children to jump right in the pool, even when unattended, as they think they know how to handle the situation.

As for what you should definitely not do, do not show your child how to unlock or unlatch the pool fence gate.  This is something that you will want to keep to yourself.  In fact, when entering the pool with your child at your side, try to block their view.  A pool fence essentially become ineffective when your child knows how to get around it.

Although there are a number of different ways that you can educate your toddler or preschooler on the subject of pool safety, it is important to remember that the responsibility of keeping your child safe lays with you.  Never leave your child unsupervised around a swimming pool, even if you are not swimming at the time.  Install a pool safety fence.  Even if law doesn’t require one, it is still a good pool safety tool to utilize.  Pool alarm and safety covers are recommended as well.

Emelda Reins likes to write for UniformHaven.com who sells dickies scrubs, dickies scrubs discount and lab coats as well as a host of other products.

I have two children and even though I love them to bits, I have to say that at times they need motivating to do their homework or to help out around the house, for example. This article describes how I go about this child motivation. The methods have helped my own children no end and I am sure they could help other parents in a similar situation.

Now I do not work with children and therefore would certainly not class myself as any sort of expert. I am a speech coach by day helping people that have a stuttering problem to achieve fluency. I also work on various other projects including helping a company that offer a DVD duplication and also within the fostering services UK sector.

I remember when I met my step-daughter, she was five years of age and quite a character. I felt a bit sorry for her however as she spent a lot of time at a childminders. The childminder would take her and pick her up from school. On some days her mother would not be able to collect her until around 8pm.

After a few months of dating her mother, I offered to help out by stating that I could take her to school and pick her up. My step-daughter said that she wanted me to do this and it was all agreed.

Up to this point she had never really been made to do her homework, either by her mother who was very busy and often tired or by the childminder.

After we arrived back at the house; I asked her whether she had been given any homework to complete. She passed me her reading folder. In the folder was a book which she was supposed to read. OK; we can read the book together; I suggested. I don’t do homework, she replied. I stated to her that that was the past and that from now on she would be doing it.

My step-daughter had a bit of strop and started to cry. Your not my dad, you can not make me do it, she continued. I basically had to be very strong and made her read the book. There were a number of words which she could not read and I wrote them on a list. We then spent around ten minutes where I attempted to teach her the words. She found all of this very boring.

I then told her that we would now play a game, which is called the mouthing game. She would pick a word from the list and just mouth the word without making a sound. If I could guess what she had mouthed, she would get a point and then it would be my turn.

She really enjoyed this game and on the way home from school on the next day, she asked if we could play the game again. Of course we can but we need to read the book first, I said. She replied that this was fine. This is the way in which we go about motivating our children; trying to turn a boring task into fun by way of turning it into a game.

I also compliment both children and tell them how much I love and am proud of them at regular intervals. I give them rewards when they have a good school report and encourage them to always give things ago even if they believe that they might fail in the specific task. In my opinion there is no such thing as failure if you have tried your best.