Class will be back in session very soon in our community. Most likely, parents have already reviewed the basic safety tips for kids who walk or bus to and from school.
Those tips, of course, are:
- Walk with a buddy
- Stay in well-lit areas
- Never accept a ride with strangers
- Once home, lock the door and don’t let anyone in
However, Dr. Michele Borba, author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions, urges you not to overestimate your kids’ safety smarts. Kids under 10, for example, may not grasp the concept of crossing a street safely, she says.
She suggests teaching them: “Stop. Left. Right. Left.” Meaning that children should, “stop at the curb, look left, right, then left again before crossing, and keep looking as they cross.”
Another thing kids need to know, says Borba, is how to ask for help. Have kids practice saying, “I need help,” out loud and instruct them to “find a uniformed employee, a police officer or a woman, preferably with a child,” when they need assistance, she says.
Once home, kids will likely use the Internet, so be sure to discuss digital safety too.
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