It's here! Back to school time! Everyone is busy buying clothes and school supplies, but every school aged child needs to be prepared in other ways too. And it doesn't hurt for adults to brush up on some safety rules.
1. Responsibility for adults: Adults in cars should be aware of kids in the street, where crossings and school zones are.
Remember kids don't always watch for cars!
2. Responsibility for kids: Parents and kids need to map out what route to take to school and alternate routes. Walk it together a few times especially if they are going to be walking by themselves to and from school. Set ground rules: No talking on the cell phone, playing gaming systems or anything else that will take their attention off of traffic. Try to minimize the amount of streets they have to cross. See if there are other kids in the neighborhood your child can walk with if they are younger. Just like kids don't always pay attention to cars, drivers don't always pay attention to kids.
3. If you drive your kids to school, make sure they get from your car to the school safely.
4. Bike Kids: Teach your kids the safety rules they have to follow. Most bicycle accidents happen because the child has run a stop sign or riding on the wrong side of the road. Wear a helmet!!
5. Have a family meeting spot in case of an emergency. And discuss what to do if school is let out early because of bad weather. If the electricity goes out, you may want them to go to a neighbors.
Latchkey Kids
Lots of kids are 'Latchkey Kids'. While having Latchkey Kids is not a bad thing, it is something that requires more attention to safety.
A few rules to go over:
1. Do not let anyone in the house. As soon as they get home, lock the door. If someone does come to the door, don't answer it.
Pass along to grandparents, relatives, close neighbors (anyone you think needs to know) your children will be at home alone for a couple of hours. If they need to come to the house while the kids are there alone, instruct them to call first. This way the kids can be expecting them. Otherwise, if someone knocks on the door-ignore it. Don't answer the door, don't look out a window. If they want something that is truly important they will come back later. Never tell a stranger on the phone parents are not home-tell them whatever you want-tell them dad's in the bathroom and has been for 20 minutes, there's NO WAY your 're gonna go get him! See, I just thought of that!
2. Have a set check in time. Tell your kids to call you when they get home to call you. Give them around 10 minutes to allow for normal delays. If they have to stay longer after school unexpectedly, they should call to let you know. If you don't hear from them in the allowed time, call a neighbor or friend to check the house.
3. Kids are starving when they get home, most accidents after school happen in the kitchen. Have something ready for them to eat for a snack they don't have to cook. (My kids have set a bag of popcorn on fire in the microwave with me home-and they panicked with me there. At that point I thought, they wouldn't have known what to do if I wasn't there). Go over fire safety!
Some snack ideas are of course fruits and veggies and I think anything that includes peanut butter. It makes it easy for them if you have everything cut up and ready to eat in the fridge.
After school I think my kids would eat the first thing they see, as long as they can get it fast.
4. Post a list of phone numbers by the phone. Including your 911 address.
One tip that I found that I like; with all the phone numbers kids to have this is a good idea:
Set your computer to do bushiness cards and type up all the phone numbers he/she may need. You can use both sides or more than one. Have them laminated and punch a hole in the corners, thread a shoelace through the hole, put on a key chain and it goes right on the backpack.
All families can use the 'Password' policy. If you having someone pick up the kids after school-they know if that person knows the password, it's ok. Change the password, or write it down somewhere discrete where only your son/daughter will see it. This is such an effective tool in keeping them safe. And it gives a feeling of safety.
This is a great website for young kids:
www.mcgruff.org
Bullies
Bullies are awful and if you have ever had to deal with one, you know exactly what I am talking about. I have only had to deal with this once. I never want to do it again.
Every kid has trouble with other kids at some point. It's when you have one child or one group that has singled your child out. It breaks your heart to have your child come home in tears because of something that was said or done to them. You are not at school, you can't be there everyday to ensure they are safe and happy. So you rely on what you teach them to do that.
This is what I have found
How to tell if your child is being bullied
What to do
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You might find interesting:
Are you 'that parent'?
School Bus Laws in Iowa
Bicycle Laws in Iowa
Cyberbullying
More Cyberbullying advice for parents
Top 50 internet acronyms
Text Message Shorthand
To get the last two web pages I googled: "internet lingo" and "Cell phone text lingo"
For me, there is no way to memorize all those, but at least there is a tool you can use to translate if you need to.
If you find anything you think other parents should know or would like to read, please send it to me! ksib@ksibradio.com
After school snacks, activities advice or a story about your kids-send it all in!
Have a wonderful and safe school year!
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