Safety is important and starts at home. Safety measures at home and school need to be taught early on to make sure your child understands best practices to keep themselves safe. Make sure you share these tips from the National Safety Council whether your kids are walking, biking, or riding the bus to school. It’s important to teach them the importance of safety at an early age and remind them throughout the school year.
- Always choose to walk on the sidewalk, if one is available. If one is not available, walk on the side that faces traffic so drivers can see you coming at them on their side of the road.
- Before crossing the street while walking or biking, stop and look left, right, then left again to check that no cars are coming and it is safe to cross.
- If your child bikes to school, make sure they always wear a bike helmet.
- Bikers should ride on the side of the road that goes with the flow of traffic. If they are riding with friends, they should bike in a single-file so they don’t take up the road.
- If your child rides the bus, go to the bus stop with them and teach them the proper way to get on and off the bus. If your child needs to cross the street, always do so in front of the bus and at least 10 feet ahead so the bus driver can see them. (Don’t forget to teach them to look both ways before crossing the street!)
- If parents are not going to be home after school, make sure the child has a way to get inside the house.
- If they are going to be home alone, make sure they have phone numbers for parents, trusted neighbors, and near-by relatives that they can call in an emergency. Teach them to always lock the doors and never answer or let strangers in if they knock or ring the bell.
We hope these tips are helpful to get the conversation started about safety at home and school.
What tips would you share with your kids?
