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1. You can train your baby/toddler to laugh when they fall down. Don't freak out when your kid falls unless they've bumped the back of their head or there is visible blood (even then, stay calm, but be concerned and comforting). Smile, and say something like, "Oops!" and chuckle. Kids freak out because their caretakers freak out. If you stay calm and don't make a big deal out of it, they will stay calm.
2. If there is blood, distraction works wonders. While you clean and bandage the kid up, ask them what their favorite foods are or what their favorite sport is. Ask open-ended questions that can lead to other questions. Do they like pie? What kind of pie? and so on. For kids who can't speak yet, relocate them to a spot near a window and play a game of I Spy while administering first aid.
3. Having first aid/CPR skills is of vital importance. If you don't have them, you should. Make sure you get the CPR class with AED training.
4. Cut adolescents some slack. They are relearning social skills. With the onset of puberty, adolescents have to figure out how to maintain peer relationships with the introduction of hormones. Don't you remember how hard that was?
I have a whole bunch, but I think that's enough for now.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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