We’re almost to February, so no doubt your children are already back at school on a daily basis. But with winter break over and the start of the school year proper even further in the rearview mirror, this is the time when it’s easy to lose sight of proper precautions along the school route. These safety issues demand repeating so that your kids can remain safe up until they get out of school for the year, so you might think about some of the tips on hand from a New Zealand chapter of Safe Kids in a new report.
If your kids are a little older and have begun to really value their relationships with their peers, they might scoff at the idea of being buckled in to a booster seat as you’re dropping them off. However, their safety should remain vital, so they need to be kept in a booster until they reach the appropriate height and weight limits. Don’t be so in a rush to graduate them to the next level, even if they put up a fight. It’s for your children’s own good.
There are other ways you can protect not just your own kids, but those other children that might be headed to class. Whenever you’re passing through a school zone, understand the importance of going slow and being attentive to children who may cross the street. Heed crossing guards if they’re around, and never swerve around a stopped parking bus, which may have just dropped off kids. The large frame of the bus may conceal children about to cross the street.
Should your children be old enough that they are capable of walking to school with a group of friends or without adult supervision, make sure they understand how to vouch for their own safety. If a music player or a phone are in your child’s possession, make sure they know not to use these while they’re walking. Not only can they get distracted, an issue that could lead them to walk into obstacles or into traffic, but they’ll miss out on the visual or aural cues that signal danger.
When they remove these types of distractions from their walk, they’ll be able to better identify the threats that might suddenly pop up along the route. Driveways, for instance, may sometimes need the same level of attentiveness as a crosswalk. If another commuter is in a rush to get to work or to drop their own kids off at school, they may hit the accelerator without looking for children who may be in the driveway. Impress upon kids the importance of watching for movement near driveways.