Road Safety for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Photo: Sandor Weisz via CC
It’s never too early to begin coaching your toddlers and preschoolers on how to stay safe near streets and parking lots. Here are some road safety basics to teach the little one in your life.
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Coach them to keep a safe distance
Teaching kids the importance of giving cars space will go a long way in helping to reduce backover incidents. Guide children to step away from a vehicle when someone gets into a car and starts the engine, as the NHTSA recommends. If your spouse or an acquaintance will be backing out of the driveway as they head out for a trip, teach your little one to stand to the side of the driveway so they’re visible to the driver as they reverse the vehicle.
Supervise their play and choose safe play areas
Per the NHTSA, always monitor your children when they’re around any vehicle, whether it’s parked or in motion. Don’t allow them to play in the front yard near the street until they’re older. If your place of residence has a backyard or a fenced-in area, encourage your youngsters to play here instead of in the front yard where they’re more exposed to vehicles.
Emphasize sidewalks and hand-holding
Start educating your little one on the difference between roads and footpaths, as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Highlight the importance of staying on the sidewalk rather than the street. It’s also a smart idea to make a rule about hand-holding. Instruct them to always hold the hand of an adult that they know when walking in a parking lot, near a street, or across a street.
Have them walk with you
It’s common for toddlers and preschoolers to want to run ahead of you when going for a walk. And they don’t always stop when you tell them to. Whenever you’re walking near vehicles and/or a road, instruct your kids to stay close to you instead of running up ahead, as ROSPA advises.
Leverage role-playing and playtime
Parenting Simply’s Adina Soclof suggests doing some road safety role-playing with young children. For instance, park your vehicle in the driveway and practice holding hands with your toddler from your house and to the car and vice versa. You could also invest in some toy cars, road signs, and people for your child to play and learn with. It’s a simple way for them to visualize road and pedestrian safety practices like how to stop and look both ways before crossing the road at a designated crosswalk.
For more tips on keeping little kids safer, read up on car seat rules. Then equip yourself with these tips to keep your child safer on the road.
Whitney Russell resides in Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not crafting car-related content, she can be found chasing after the most amazing toddler in the world, watching her “beaver” of a husband build amazing woodworking projects, hanging out with two crazy dogs, and visiting family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, crafting, and binge-watching period dramas when time allows. See more articles by Whitney.