The Child Accident Prevention Trust has recognised that with growing numbers of parents in multiple jobs and record numbers of women working, there’s often little time to remember, let alone learn about, child road safety.
The Trust said parents need reminders that tell it all in a moment and it has produced a booklet to help entitled It’s fun to go out. With vivid illustrations of common risks to young children and simple, non-judgemental language, it brings road safety to life for busy parents.
Here are some of the tips that the Trust has produced for parents and other carers to teach children road safety.
Teach children to:
- Find footbridges to go over roads and subways go under roads.
- To stop, look and listen when crossing the road.
- Talk about safer places to cross and how it’s harder to see where there are parked cars, junctions, bends or the brow of a hill.
- Learn the names of the different crossings, such as zebras, puffins, pelicans and footbridges.
Follow these steps with your child every time you cross the road:
- Find the safest place to cross with a clear view of all around, away from parked cars, junctions, bends or the brow of a hill if possible. Talk about safest places to cross and how it’s harder to see where there are parked cars, junctions, bends or near the brow of a hill. Explain that drivers and riders won’t be able to see you either.
- Holding hands with your child, show them how to stop on the kerb, look all around and listen for traffic before they cross. First explain that they must stop at the kerb and not step into the road as traffic might be coming very fast. Then they must look all around because traffic could come from any direction and they should listen because sometimes you can hear traffic before you see it.
- When it is safe, walk straight across (not diagonally) and keep looking and listening. Tell your child they must do this in case there is any traffic they did not see, or in case traffic appears suddenly.