Crossing the road is something most of us do several times a day, so this is an essential life skill that you need to be confident that your child understands. Take the time to teach them some ground rules, so that they can approach roads with confidence and safety.
Stop, Look, Listen
These three words have been key within road safety teaching for decades, and for good reason. Teach your kid this refrain and then practice it with them, by walking to a road and making sure you do stop, look and listen. Reinforce the importance of listening, as many kids think once they’ve glanced at the road, they can go ahead and cross.
Let Your Child Take the Lead
Once your child has started to gain confidence and awareness, let them make the decisions about when you cross together. Ensure that you are still holding hands (so they can’t dash out with no warning), but let them state when they think it’s safe to cross. This will let you know how good a judge they are of road safety, and whether you still need to practice.
Reinforce Daily
Keep talking about the rules of road safety with your child on a daily basis, so that it becomes second nature to them. You want them to always approach a road crossing with these rules in mind so that they can keep themselves safe.