Understanding traffic and road safety doesn't necessarily come naturally. We need to teach our children how to be safe pedestrians. It's not just about telling them what to do - children learn from what adults do, so you need to model safe behaviour.
So with that in mind we took to the streets this afternoon. Whilst trying to train my 5 year old to cross the road with care I got somewhat frustrated by the number of drivers who saw I was with a child, slowed to a stop and waved us across.
They are good and kind people but I do not want to give my child the impression that cars stop for you when you are wanting to cross the road. Under no circumstances do I want him to be under the illusion that it is the drivers’ responsibility to ensure his safety.
We walked the city centre of Hastings looking for crossings and opportunities to talk about ‘sneaky driveways’, different places to cross and dangers of parked cars. I’m hoping he is a little wiser today but the trick to this is to take EVERY opportunity your can to reinforce these lessons. Here’s hoping we can take five more minutes in our journey to do it right.
Little eyes are watching and learning from actions.
Resources are available to assist us in educating our kids:
- Road safety tips to teach your children
- Help funding road safety initiatives in your local area
- Further reading around New Zealand Road Safety Research
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