Back To School: Walking Safety Tips For Kids

Summer has ended and it’s back to school time. Hence, I just thought that it might be timely to revisit some safety tips for parents and kids.

As parents, it is our duty to remind our kids about traffic safety. Take a proactive stance on this matter by taking some time to discuss about safety with your kids as they go back to school.

Plan The School Walking Route

One way to help your kids understand more about safety is to plan their school route ahead of time. Once you have this planned out, I highly suggest that you walk the route with them so that you can make your kids aware of potential hazards or safety concerns.

If you see some potential safety concerns with the route, then plan for an optional route. Make sure to select the route with the least amount of street crossings. The bottom-line is that you should keep your kids safety as top priority.

Make sure to select the route with the least amount of street crossings.

Additionally, make sure to tell your kids to stay on the same route every day as you have already assessed that the route has been determined to be the safest.

Make it a point to also have your kids find a walking buddy so that they won’t be walking home alone. If kids can walk in groups, the better in terms of safety. Related read: Find someone to watch over your kids

Say No To Electronic Gadgets

Here is one very important tip to also tell your kids: no electronic gadgets should be used while walking to and from school.

Kids should be focused and very aware of their surroundings for their own safety. Listening to music, talking on the phone, playing games, and watching videos while walking and crossing streets should be a big no-no.

Avoid all these distractions at all costs as avoiding these while walking can save their lives or prevent them from endangering the lives of people around them too.

Listening to music, talking on the phone, playing games, and watching videos while walking and crossing streets should be a big no-no. Avoid all these distractions at all costs as avoiding these while walking can save their lives or prevent them from endangering the lives of people around them too.

A study by Safe Kids Worldwide which observed 34,000 middle and high school students crossing the street in a school zone reported that 1 in every 5 high school students and 1 in every 8 middle school students were observed crossing the street while distracted by technology.

This is really shocking as it goes to show that kids are too complacent about their safety. As parents, we should make it a point to tell our kids that safety should be top priority and that there is a right time and place for electronic gadgets —  definitely not when they are walking and crossing streets.

… 1 in every 5 high school students and 1 in every 8 middle school students were observed crossing the street while distracted by technology.

Additional Safety Tips For Your Kids

• Remind Kids About Safety Behavior. In case your kids do not walk to school every day, make sure to remind and teach your kids about safety behavior, especially when walking to school.
• Adult Supervision Still Required For The Little Ones. Children under 10 years old should only cross the street with an adult. Once children reach and age of maturity and can make independent decision should they only be allowed to cross streets on their own. Related read: Find affordable childcare with this promo code
• Beware Of Strangers. Make sure to remind your kids to never speak, accept gifts, or rides from a stranger.
• Cross Only At Safest Zones. Remind your kids to as much as possible cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.
• Learn Bus Safety Zones. Inform children that they should always walk in front of the bus so that the bus driver can clearly see them.
• No Running. Children should never run out into the streets or cross in between parked cars cause doing so could be very dangerous for them as well as drivers.
• Memorize Important Contact Info. Have your children memorize your cell phone number, home number, and address. It’s good for them to know these in case a situation requires them to contact you.
• Make Them Wear Protective Gear. In case they ride a bike, scooter or skateboard to school, make sure to have them wear a helmet.

Would you have any safety tips you’d like to share?

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Stephanie Parker

A nerd at heart (haha), I have been following and analyzing the world of online sitters for a couple of years now and have seen a lot of innovations and changes in this market. In between taking care of my loving (and demanding 😜) family and writing, I also do a lot of “traveling” on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel. Read More