As school starts up again around the country, morning and afternoon sidewalks are full of kids walking to and from school or to the bus stop. Even in the safest of neighborhoods, however, these short journeys can present potential dangers and disasters that can easily be avoided by following a few simple rules.
If you have a child who walks to school, follow the suggestions listed below to insure a pleasant, stress-free experience for both you and your child.
Choose a safe route for your child to walk. Avoid shortcuts through alleys, dimly lit streets, or areas that pass by abandoned houses or buildings. Once this route is established, make an agreement with your children that this is the only route they will take to school.
Walk the route with your child. Make sure your child knows the traffic rules, such as which side of the street to walk on, where to cross the street, and how to look out for traffic before crossing. Also, try to anticipate any dangers. Is there a creepy house or troublesome dog that might make them alter their route and do something unsafe? If there is, address this concern and come up with an alternative plan.
Lastly, time the route. This way you’ll know how long it should take them to walk it, and when to expect them home in the afternoons.
Find safe zones along the route. Should your child become sick, injured or threatened along the way, where can he or she go to seek refuge? Do you know people who live along the route? Is there a friendly store or business along the way? Will someone be around during the times that kids are walking to school?
Many communities have programs where stay-at-home moms, retired couples, or trusted people who are home during the day volunteer to provide a safe haven for kids should they have any trouble on the way to or from school. These volunteers often mark their houses with a sign in the front window or in the yard. See if there’s such a program in your community. If not, consider starting one.
Make sure that your child walks with a friend or group of friends. There is safety in numbers. If one of your child’s walking buddies acts up or starts behaving dangerously along the route, make sure that your child feels comfortable telling you so that you can address the situation.
Establish a “No Rides from Strangers” Rule. Make sure your child knows who he can accept rides from. Child predators can be quite conniving and may try to lure kids with candy, a story about a lost pet, a lie that they know you and that you sent them, or there might even be another child in the car. Make sure that your child knows absolutely, under no circumstances, to accept rides from strangers.
Should someone try to force them into a car, your child should scream as loudly as possible and run back up the road in the opposite direction to the nearest safe zone that you established earlier.
Have your child check-in before leaving and after getting home. Having your child check in when leaving and returning home will give both of you peace of mind and can be accomplished with a simple text or phone call. Of course, our Monitronics home security alarms can also be configured to do that for you. Contact us today if you’d like more information on this feature or any of our home security systems.
Walking to school provides children with memories that will last a life time. By following the rules and suggestions mentioned above, you can help insure that those memories will be safe and happy ones!
