Tips to keep your kids safe on their way to school

With some children going back to school this week and others having gone back last week, it is important to keep your children safe on their journeys to school.

Here are some handy tips to ensure your child’s safety:

• Make sure your child walks to school with friends or adults. If your child currently walks to school alone, try find some other children from the area that they can walk with in order to keep safe
• Walk through busy, familiar streets. Do not encourage your children to take unfamiliar routes or shortcuts through quiet side streets
• Encourage your children to wait inside the school premises for their lift to arrive after school
• Make sure your child knows the person who will be fetching them from school
• Encourage your children not to engage in conversation with strangers. If someone tries to grab or touch them, teach them to scream and kick indicating to others nearby that they are in distress
• Keep in communication with your kids so that they are aware if you are running late
• Draw up a list of emergency contacts for your children to call if they feel unsafe. Save these numbers on their cell phone
• Make sure your children know how to use your home security system so that they can keep themselves safe.

These ideas come from Fidelity ADT.