Lesson #11 (pages 54-59) moves beyond the basic communication skillset and begins to focus more on personal responsibility.  Yes, I know it’s a heavy and somewhat advanced subject for very young children, but like all other forms of communication, it is better to teach responsibility to a child before an issue has occurred than to explain what they did wrong after the deed is done.  As a child I caused more havoc in the kitchen than any other place in the house.  Electric socket?  I stuck a finger in there.  Red hot stove top?  I managed to singe my hand like a pancake on one of those.  Getting things out of the refrigerator that I wasn’t supposed to have?  I choked on bread my little hands retrieved from the fridge without anyone knowing… So, my illustrator Danielle and I packed as many possibilities as we could think of into this lesson so you can walk your child through the kitchen and show them what not to do before they do it!

Primary lessons in this picture:  Safety in the kitchen and taking responsibility for one’s own actions.

• Develop a clear understanding of dangers in the kitchen.

  • Don’t touch hot surfaces on the stove. Red stove tops and physical heat signals danger (Stove, pages 55 & 56).

  • Stay out of the refrigerator unless an adult is supervising (Refrigerator, pages 55 & 57).

  • Don’t play with sharp objects (Knives, pages 54 & 58).

  • Don’t mess with electric sockets (Electric Socket, pages 56 & 58)

  • Don’t give bones and scraps to the dog, it can make the sick (Bonnie Sue & Trudeau, pages 55 & 59).

• Develop self-responsibility and characteristics of honesty.

  • Don’t blame others for your actions (Rico and Jesse, pages 54 &58)

  • Don’t lie (Bonnie Sue, pages 55 & 59)

  • Help with chores that parents supervise (Meow Meow, pages 54 & 59)

Plans of Action and Reaction:  Safety and Responsibility:

• Teach now before the accidents occur.

  • Issue: All of the lessons above

    • Action:

      • Teach children step by step how to avoid all the issues listed above. Use the pictures and refer to them when in the real kitchen.  Different children will understand at different ages, however it is never too early to start the repetition of learning what not to do in the kitchen!

  • Issue: Developing self-responsibility and honesty.

    • Action:

      • You are smarter than your children, sort of… Children learn to manipulate at a very young age and they are extremely good at it.  So be on your toes and never let a bad behavior pass.  Think of each one as an opportunity to teach and remind them that good behavior gets rewarded and bad behavior results in discipline.

Conclusion:

Interestingly, this picture was the first one created for the book.  But it was not actually modeled off of my childhood, but my dog’s bad behavior.  Rico and Jesse loved to get in the trash if I left it where they could reach it, and they always seemed to blame each other when I questioned them.  It is so interesting to me how similar children and dogs can be, and how important it is that we love them all and teach them what they need to know to be safe.