the street: how do you teach them?

perhaps this is not the best advice, but a freind of our son had been told he would be "squashed like a pancake" if he went in the street, in a very gentle and humorous way. since ds does not know what a pancake is, we said "squash you like a peice of toast". anyways, our ds loved the comcept and has steered clear of the streets and holds hands because of it. everytime he considers going near the street, we remind him and he will stop and rattle on about being "squashed like a peice of toast" and instead of getting upset or frustrated, we go into our rhyme and he has not desire to go in the street. hey, it may not work for everyone but it has been a great technique for us. yes, the street is a very scary thing and should not be taken lightly, but some things are most effective for toddlers in a humorous and visual way and there are so many things that could be described to a toddler as "dangerous". try thinking of your own rhyme and make it up as you go along, if nothing else it will keep his mind off the desire to go in the road.

you know, now that i posted this,, today ds is showing signs of having heard me. today when we were geting out of the car in our driveway, he did his usual wandering toward the street but he stopped a good 5 feet away from the curb ( as i was rushing toward him cautiosly ) and put his hands on his knees and kind of hunched down like i do when i am talking to himn, and pointed at the street and said "street, cars"

not only was it hilariously cute, but i was so pleased that he had listened to me the 2 times i tried this earlier this week. (i got down to his level and pointed at cars, the street and told him the cars could hurt him, etc)

at least he is mimiking me and seems to have liked me telling him that, even if he doesnt understand yet....so i just have to remember its repetition repetition repetition!

I think that you can carry on teaching but just never trust that they understand and have learned.

I say this from experience, as dd ran away from me and into the street when she was about two and a half. A car almost hit her. I screamed (a scream I can still here in my head now, and nothing like any noise I've ever made before or since), she stopped in the middle of the street right smack in the path of the car. Thank God he saw her, and was not speeding.

It was the most terrifying moment of my life. She stood in the road by the bumper of the car (a huge SUV) shaking and crying hysterically. At that moment she understood about why I always hold her hand near cars.

You'd think this would be enough of a lesson, but then just last week, six months later, she ran away from me across the lawn at home, and only stopped on the drive when I yelled at the top of my lungs.

You just can never trust that they understand, and even if they do, the temptation to play run-off at one moment of their lives can take them out into the street. To dd, it was just a little trick, she was giggling as she ran.

I never got to speak to the driver and thank him for driving carefully and not speeding, but I think of him almost every day.

Now I want to cry, so I'll stop. I can only say, don't trust in the 'teach the child to respond to 'stop'' philosophy, as you can't trust that a young child will respond when you need him or her to do so.