Back To School Safety Tips For Parents: Ways To Keep Your Children Safe While Driving

 

Ringing in the new school year can bring on a lot of excitement and nervousness, but it’s important to be prepared for all eventualities. As parents, you want to ensure that your child is as safe as possible while they go off to school. Here are some safety tips for back-to-school:

1. Remind Your Kids Not to Talk to Strangers

As a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure that you teach your child the difference between right and wrong. You should also make sure that they know about stranger danger. 

It’s important to teach your child not to accept rides from strangers. Teaching your children this skill can help them stay safe and out of trouble as they grow older. Here are some guidelines that you should follow: 

• Never take a ride from someone without asking for their name, address, and phone number first.
• Always tell an adult if the person who offered the ride is acting strange.
• If no adults are around, call 911 or ask a store clerk for help.

There are many reasons why you should never accept a ride from somebody that you don’t know well, such as getting into an accident with them, being abducted by the driver of the vehicle, or having something stolen while taking the trip.

2. Teach Them to Cross Streets Safely

Do you have a child that is about to start school? If so, then it’s important that they know how to cross the street safely and obey traffic signals. Here are some tips for teaching your children about crossing streets and obeying traffic lights.

• Teach them how to look both ways.
• Show them where the stop signs are.
• Give them a time limit on crossing.
• Make sure they wait until all cars have stopped before stepping off of the curb.
• Remind them not to run across the street.
• Teach them about red lights and how to wait for green ones.
• Avoid crossing in between parked cars.
• Make sure they know not to run through an intersection if a car is coming, no matter what color light it has.

These tips will help your child stay safe as they cross parking lots and streets. Being able to safely cross the street is an important skill that every child needs to know. Traffic signals tell us when it is safe to cross and can also help us find our way home.

3. Teach Your Kids How to Deal With Strangers

Don’t be afraid to teach your children about stranger danger. It is very important that they know the steps they should take if a stranger approaches them or talks to them in person, on the phone, or online. 

The topic of stranger danger is a difficult one. It can be tough for parents to teach their children what to do in situations where they are approached by someone unfamiliar.

Teach them these three steps:

• Don't talk to strangers.
• Get away from strangers.
• Tell an adult right away.

4. Teach Them Not to Share Info With Strangers

In today’s world, there are many people who have been scammed by someone they met over the phone. If your child does not know how to recognize a scam artist, then it is important that you teach them. 

It’s important for children to understand that personal information (such as their address) should never be shared with people they don’t know. Teaching your child about safety is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. You can help ensure your child stays safe by teaching them to never share this type of information, even on the phone! If someone calls and asks for it, tell them no and hang up immediately.

Children are often told to never give their address, phone number or other private information to a stranger. But what if the person on the other line is not a stranger? They could be someone from your child’s school district calling about an issue with your child’s bus route. In this case, you might want them to share their information so that they can fix it as quickly as possible! Always talk with your children about why they should only give out personal information when necessary and who they can trust.

5. Make Your Kid's Bag Comfy & Not Heavy

If you are a parent, it is your job to make sure that your child’s backpack is the right size and weight. A heavy backpack can cause pain in the neck, back, or shoulders; plus it does not allow for good posture. 

The straps should be adjusted so they fit snugly over the shoulders and cross at armpit height on the chest. It should never hang lower than waist height and should be fitted evenly across both sides of the body. Children need to carry approximately 10% of their body weight; anything more could lead to injury!

6. Keep a Close Eye on Them All the Time

It can be hard to keep track of time when you’re juggling work and parenting, but it’s important to make sure your child is picked up on time. Here are some tips for parents who want to avoid being late:

• Check the school calendar for dismissal times.
• Add reminders in your phone or computer (or set an alarm).
• Get a family member or friend designated as the "PICK UP PERSON" with their phone number programmed into your kids' phones, so they can call them if there's an emergency that prevents them from getting home on their own.

7. Encourage Your Kids to Walk With Friends

Children are constantly looking for ways to stay safe. Parents want to know that their children are able to get home safely or find a neighbor if they need help. This is an important skill set, but it’s not always easy for kids to learn on their own.

Parents can encourage them by modeling the behavior themselves and making sure their children have friends with whom they feel comfortable walking together after school, in the evening, or when traveling outside of the neighborhood. These skills will serve them well into adulthood!

8. Find a Safe "Standby Place" for Them

The world is a scary place and so it’s important to stay close to your children at all times. As a parent, you’ve probably given them an emergency contact number in case they ever need help. But what about when the school day ends? How do we ensure our kids are safe on their way home from school? 

It can be helpful for parents of elementary-aged kids to organize carpools with other families who live nearby or find out if there are any local afterschool programs that provide supervised childcare until adults can pick up their children. If not, you’re going to want to make sure your child knows how to use public transportation (if available), and where they should go if they get lost or separated from you on the way

Every day, after school ends for the day, many children are left to walk home alone. This is a problem that should have been solved long ago with safe routes and designated pick-up areas. For kids who are already being bullied or harassed on the way to school, walking home can be even more dangerous. As adults in our community, we need to take responsibility for ensuring these children get home safely by either walking them home or waiting with them at their bus stop until they catch their ride. It’s really not too much to ask!

9. Keep Their Phones Charged for Emergencies

In case of emergency, a parent needs to be able to contact their children. In order for this to happen, kids need to have a charged phone with them at all times. Kids should also know how and when to call 911 in case they can’t reach their parents or anyone else who is available for help. 

Families today rely on cell phones more than ever before. This has made it easier for us as parents because we can always stay in touch with our loved ones even if we are apart from one another. However, the flip side is that without a charged phone kids may not be able to get help in an emergency situation if something happens while they are away from home or school where there’s no landline access.

Conclusion

The safety of your child is always at the forefront of a parent’s mind. One way to ensure that they are safe at school, walking home from school, or out with friends in their neighborhood is by following these simple steps: Walk them home together after school or find a safe place for them to wait while you finish errands nearby, Always keep their phone charged in case of emergencies or just in case they need help finding their way back home. Check the calendar so you don’t accidentally miss picking up time and stay tuned for more tips!