Teaching Your Children Road Safety

This is a topic that is hugely important for children to learn about as they grow up – the essential road safety messages out there that all families and little ones need to know.

Teaching children about road safety

Talk to your children about road safety. Even very young children should be taught about what they need to do to stay safe on our roads. Explain why there are rules to follow, and that cars are hard and heavy and can hurt them.

Discussions about road safety should always be approached with care. If someone you or your child knows has been affected by a road crash, talk to them about what happened and answer questions they may have with honesty and care.

The Green Cross Code

Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple and remember the Green Cross Code:

·       Stop somewhere safe where you can see

·       Listen for traffic

·       Look right, look left, look right again

·       Keep looking and listening and only cross when you are sure it’s safe

Different ways to travel

It is recommended that until the age of 10 children should always ride with an adult on safe cycle paths. Helmets must be worn to protect the head in case children fall off their bikes.

One of the best ways to teach children about road safety is to lead by example, choose safe and healthy ways to travel including active walking and cycling and always wear your helmet and cross the road safely.

After the covid pandemic, there are now more varieties of road users with more electric cars, cyclists and pedestrians as well as cars, vans, motorbikes, buses and even horses to look out for. We as road users have a duty to take care of everyone on our roads and we should teach children about the different ways to travel.

What do children need to stay safe?

·       Footpaths

·       Cycle paths

·       Safe places to cross

·       Slow traffic

Walking and cycling are good for both mental and physical health, and it’s a fun way to interact with one another too. But it is important to teach children how to do this safely.

Key things to teach children include:

–        Hold hands with a grown-up

–        Stay away from the kerb

–        Always wear a helmet when cycling or scooting

–        Identify safe places to cross

–        Learn the names and uses of pelican, zebra and other crossings

–        Never cross the road between parked cars

–        A red light means stop and wait

–        Understand pollution dangers

Hope this helps, Michele @ Mini First Aid x