Is your child ready to walk to school alone?
Here are some things to go over with your child before they head out the door with their backpack.
It’s back-to-school season, and kids across the country are heading out the door with their backpacks. Some of them are making the trip alone for the first time. But what about safety? As a parent, it’s hard not to worry when watching your child take off down the street by themselves. At the same time, we want to encourage our kids’ independence.
Safety experts have the best way for parents to approach this milestone.
There is no one age at which all children become capable of walking themselves to school. There are too many factors involved: Will they be with an older sibling or neighbor? How far away is the school? How many streets do they have to cross?
Don’t have their name visible on the outside of their backpack or other items.
It’s extremely unlikely that your child will be approached by an unknown person with ill intentions while walking to or from school. Nevertheless, it’s probably a good idea not to have your child’s first name visible on their backpack, lunchbox or other items they carry with them.
Explain that safe adults don’t ask kids for help.
In lieu of “stranger danger,” one helpful thing that kids can remember is “‘Safe grown-ups don’t ask kids for help,’” Predators often use a request for assistance, such as carrying packages or finding a lost pet, to draw a victim in.
Teach basic street smarts without instilling fear.
Though you may have grown up during the era of “stranger danger” warnings, this teaching has fallen out of favor over the years. The worldview that this kind of thinking can encourage is that every adult your child doesn’t know is a potential threat, and this doesn’t reflect reality. A belief like this can cause a lot of anxiety and worry for kids.
Stress the importance of being attentive to their surroundings.
You’ll see kids and teens (and adults, too) walking hunched over their phones, earbuds in, absorbed in the sounds and images of that tiny screen. This isn’t a safe way to travel from one place to the next.
“Emphasize to your children the importance of staying alert while walking/biking,”
Plan and practice.
One of the best ways for kids to learn a new skill is to do it with you.
“Map out the safest route to school, and walk it with your child at least once. Tell your child to avoid shortcuts and follow all pedestrian and road safety rules,” Practice using crosswalks, where cars will be more likely to see them than if they cut across in the middle of the street.
If your child has a phone, use available technology.
Once you’ve decided that your child is ready for a phone, you can use location sharing to track where they are. You should also “teach your child how to dial 911 should they feel threatened in any way,” “there are many free apps to help ensure your child’s safety while walking to and from school or the bus stop, including Life360 … and Google’s Family Link.”