Child Road Safety

Child Road Safety

As parents and educators at Roosevelt ES (Houston ISD) we are concerned about this part of the education, we have decided to work together and dedicate one day a week to work on this life-safety project. From the very first moment we mentioned to do that, they couldn't wait to come to our room and start with our Dual-Language Prek students.

Why Child Road Safety at schools?

The doors of the schools in the hours of entry and dismissal become a real chaos where personal interests are a priority to the rules of coexistence and civic behavior of road safety.

Paradoxically these behaviors of individual overprotection that we intend for our children, wanting to take them to the same door of the center, translates into risk behavior for children, families, drivers and pedestrians, in addition to a negative model for the little ones.

For all this, we wanted to pick up a decalogue with the positive guidelines that we should establish in the children's voices.

A decalogue focused on nursery schools that due to the special characteristics of the users (SRI, strollers, motor skills, etc.) are more exposed to risks and is the basis of the education, training and awareness that is intended.

The road safety of school environments is everyone's responsibility, let's begin to apply common sense and we will achieve adequate and safe environments, sowing awareness in our children to collect self-protection and citizenship in their development.According to Unicef ​​data, thousand and thousand children from one year to 14 years of age are killed in traffic accidents in rich countries every year. The survey concludes that this is because children do not use security systems or do it incorrectly, or at home they are not well trained.

The best way to prevent accidents is education. With good information and awareness, in addition to the use of child safety system, the number of children killed in traffic accidents could be reduced by 75%. Parents should assume that they are solely responsible for the safety of their children when traveling by car, that's why their active participation is very important.

The consequences for the child of not traveling safe baby in car seat:

A strong impact can cause serious injuries to babies and children. In 80% of cases, the most affected areas are the head and neck. While for an adult the head represents an eighth of the total weight, for a child it represents a quarter, since 25% of the weight of the children is in the head. By not having well developed neck muscles, it could not withstand a violent shock, which can have serious consequences, such as injuries to the vertebrae and spinal cord.

Traffic accidents are the most frequent cause of multiple injuries in children:

- A child can suffer a traumatic brain or spinal injury, visceral injuries, or fractures of extremities.

- When a child is in a vehicle that collides with a pole or a tree, or collides with another car, if it has an adequate restraint system, it may have thoracic and abdominal injuries. If you do not have an adequate restraint system, you can die immediately or suffer a traumatic brain injury.

- When a child goes by motorcycle or bike. Children, when traveling with an adult on a motorcycle or bicycle, even if they go in a specific seat for them, can suffer injuries in the upper and lower extremities, including amputations of hands and feet.

The example of parents in terms of road safety

Children learn by imitating behavior, so it is imperative that parents are the first to set an example. If the children see that their parents are wearing the seat belt, they will also do the same and will not discuss the use of the safety systems as soon as they enter the car. There are cases in which children themselves warn their parents when they break this traffic rule. For this reason, it is very important that the elderly have the most correct behavior possible. The most convenient thing is to teach children the use of the indicated security systems, whatever the route. In this way, children will get used to using it as a rule every time they get into the car. Remember that the safety of children in the car depends on the adult.

The awareness of drivers with children

The seats or safety seats for babies and children are the most effective measure to prevent traffic accidents. Therefore, to protect the lives of babies and children it is essential to use safety seats in the car. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of protecting children. That the drivers of the children are more aware of, for example, speed. It is physically proven that at a speed of 60 km / h, no arm is capable of retaining a child weighing 18 kilos. In the event of a frontal collision, its weight would reach more than one ton.

Some recommendations

Part of this post has been adapted and translated (free and non-commercial purpose) of the article Seguirdad Vial Infantil.