By Meg Laver

Common Sense. It’s a skill that most of us have right? It’s a skill that us parents learnt at a very young age and it’s a skill that we hope all of our children have. Yet in this technology driven world it’s easy to forget that children need to learn these basic skills and not rely on their gadgets to do it for them. The Gator Watch is a great way for children to be children. It enables them to enjoy the outside world independently and still be able to communicate with mum and dad. Yes it has a tracking device but the tracking device is for peace of mind more than anything else. We know that there aren’t any devices on the market that can keep your them 100% safe. Kids need to stay smart when they are out and about and it’s impossible for a device to teach them that skill no matter how good it is. With the kids going back to school in just under a week we wanted to share our top tips for making sure they use their common sense.

CROSSING THE ROAD

STOP.LOOK.LISTEN. Remember that saying? That was the saying that was engrained firmly into our minds as young children. Road safety is hugely important. A device will not tell your child to stop, look and listen so start teaching them young and it will become second nature to them. This is especially important for kids who are taking a step towards independence this year and walking to school.

TALKING TO STRANGERS

Another thing we all knew as young children. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t take sweets off strangers. Don’t be led anywhere with strangers. Sadly this is even more important for our children’s generation. Let your kids know about the risks that can come with being too open with people they don’t know. It’s important they know that talking to new people isn’t all-bad but they must use their common sense and stay safe.

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE TIME

Do you remember having a curfew when you were a kid? I know we certainly did. Curfews aren’t so strict nowadays but it is important that your child can tell the time or have a means to know when it’s time to come home. If it starts to get dark and you have said to come home by the time it’s dark then your child needs to have the common sense to use the light as a tool.

KNOWING DISTANCES

It seems like an obvious one but loads of kids might use a big chunk of their playtime to get to one place. Set boundaries with them and teach them that it takes as long to get somewhere as it does to get back. Helping them use their common sense to know distances is hugely important.

Common sense is one of the best safety tools that your child can have and once learnt those skills will stay with them forever. Having a device such as My Gator Watch is great for adding to that peace of mind and building your child’s confidence as they explore the outdoors but always make sure that they are confident in their own ability to know what is right and wrong.

My Gator watch retails at £99 and service plans start from £9 per month. For full details about the watch and our stockists please click here.