Kids are back in school and while they may think the hardest part about school is the tests—their parents need to know some important safety guidelines that will get their children back to school safely this fall.
First, many kids walk to school and unfortunately Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign children under 10 should never cross the street alone. Choose the most direct route to school with the fewest street crossings. Walk the route with your children until they demonstrate traffic safety awareness. Teach children that a flashing "walk" sign is not an automatic "go" signal. While it means that they technically have the "permission" to cross, they need to stop and look both ways for cars first--teach them to look left, right and left again for traffic before and while crossing the street. Teach children not to enter the street from between parked cars or from behind bushes or shrubs.
About 24 million students ride school buses daily. Although this is one of the safest ways to travel to and from school, injuries do occur. Teach kids to:
- Cross the street at least 10 feet in front of the bus so that the bus driver can see them.
- Remove loose drawstrings from sweatshirts and don't let them have the long lanyards on their backpacks which can snag on bus handrails or get caught in the door.
- Kids really need to be taught to stay seated at all times and to keep their arms and heads in the bus--sounds like common sense but you'd be surprised what kids do on a bus.
If your child bikes to school, purchase a bike helmet that meets U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission safety standards and make sure that it is worn correctly every time the child rides his or her bike. Children who ride bikes to school should be taught to follow the rules of the road that apply to all vehicles. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against traffic; use appropriate hand signals; respect traffic signals; stop at all intersections, marked and unmarked; and stop and look left, right and left again before entering or crossing the street.
Motor vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under. Parents should use child safety seats and safety belts correctly every time. Parents play a huge role in teaching their children how to be safe in the vehicle--the way a teenager drives and behaves in the car is often a direct result of watching how their parents behave. Buckle up every time and talk to your children about how you are watching out for other drivers. Children who have outgrown a convertible seat should graduate to a booster seat until the vehicle’s safety belts fit correctly (usually when they are about 80 pounds. Never put loose, heavy objects like a huge bin of toys or groceries in the passenger area of the car. They become missiles if you stop suddenly or have an accident. Many people have survived the crash only to be seriously injured by the items flying around in the car.
Make this school year a safe one. For more helpful information:
No comments:
Post a Comment