10 WAYS TO SAY, “I LOVE YOU” TO HELP KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE

1. The number one action we can each take so that any child of ours will not become a traffic incident victim on neighborhood streets is to simply say, and enforce, no playing in the street. Set limits for your child. Make sure they have safe places to play. Do not let them play in the street.

2. Know where your child is. Be outside watching younger children – 7 and under. Know who they are with as well as where they are. Dare to Care!

3. Always make sure kids are buckled up. Remember, show your care for others by wearing your seat belt and expecting others to do the same. Do the right thing. SEAT BELTS – FASTENATING!®

4. Make sure your young child is in an approved safety seat or booster seat. Be sure the seat is properly installed and that your child is safely buckled in. For more information visit http://www.safekids.org/.

5. Cross the street with your child until the age of 10. (Children’s hearing is not fully developed until then, so they may not hear or notice oncoming traffic.)

6. Teach your child to cross the street correctly. Always use the nearest crosswalk when available. And remember, STOP! TAKE 3 TO SEE®

 This means:

    A. Stop completely at curbside
    B. Look left, look right, look left again (and listen, too)
    C. Make sure the road is clear before crossing.

This is also the way for we adults to obey stop signs.
In addition, teach your children to follow these same steps when approaching a driveway or intersection. Teach them to be aware that a car may be backing out or that a car may be approaching an intersection from any direction. STOP! TAKE 3 TO SEE®

7. Expect your child to wear the proper helmet and pads when riding a bike, scooter, skateboard, or using skates. Helmets should exceed safety standards. Look for an ASTM, Snell, ANSI or CPSC certification sticker. A simple rule for parenting – NO HELMET (or elbow, wrist, and kneepads for skateboards, skates, and scooters) NO WHEELS! Enforce this rule at all times to help your child learn good safety habits.

8. Make sure your child checks in with you on a regular basis (every hour or so) when at a friend’s house. This is important for children of all ages (teenagers, too!).

9. Know the parents of all children in your neighborhood. Support each other in helping to keep all kids safe – in yards, homes, cars, and on bikes, scooters, and skates.

10. Make sure you follow the rules of the road. Buckle up! Drive no faster than the speed limit –slower if needed. Allow one vehicle length for each 10mph between you and the car in front of you (30 mph is 3 lengths, 50 is 5) Pay attention to stop signs and traffic signals. Remember,

Bonus Tip!

Never leave a child unattended in a motor vehicle - whether the engine is running or not! Not only could a child be kidnapped, but s/he could also accidentally trip an automatic window switch. In dozens of instances each year, this results in the strangulation death of a child.

• A pedestrian hit by a vehicle in a 30 mph zone is 3 times more likely to die than one hit by a vehicle traveling in a 25 mph zone. (General Estimates - Police Reported Accidents)

• The street in front of your home is over twice as dangerous as highways when it comes to number of deaths per miles driven. (Federal Highway Administration)

To schedule a community presentation on PARENTING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE, please contact Tom Everson at (402) 334-1391 or e-mail Tom@kkad25.org 

KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25®
P.O. BOX 45563 Omaha, NE 68145-0563 (402) 334-1391
www.keepkidsalivedrive25.org

Tips for Caring

• Where Are You?
  
  As a parent, one of the most important things you can do is to pay attention to your children. One way to do this is to monitor your child's whereabouts. 
  
  You can do this by:
  • Keeping a watchful eye on your children. Keep them in your sight. An incident can happen in a matter of seconds.
  • Make sure you let your child(ren) know what the boundaries are. Be sure you know where they are playing and whom they are playing with. Create safe spaces for them to play in your yard. Work with your neighbors to be sure you have consistent rules for behavior and safety throughout your neighborhood.
  • Be sure to walk your child(ren) across the street. Teach them to Stop, Look, and Listen! before crossing.
  • Remember, oftentimes children are hit by cars because they are not being monitored. As parents we must first do our job - watch out for our children. And Remember! Each of us is responsible for our own actions behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. We each need to "watch out" for children at play who may not be paying attention to us. Each of us must do our part to make Keep Kids Alive Drive 25^®  work.
  • Parenting Workshops: For information on parenting or healthy youth development workshops offered by Tom Everson (Creator of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25^® ), call (402) 334-1391 or e-mail.
   
• Please do not to use cell phones while driving. This poses a hazard to kids (and, in fact, all motorists and pedestrians), both inside and outside your vehicle, due to the potential for distractions. If you must contact someone, please decide to be courteous and cautious by pulling into a parking lot to make your call.

Check Your Back!

• Before backing out of any driveway, check to make sure children are not playing behind your car.
• Also check to make sure children are not running or riding their bikes down the sidewalk.

Bike Safety

When your children ride their bikes, be sure they wear a helmet (and that it is fastened correctly). Get your children into the helmet habit when they are young. Make it a hard and fast rule - no helmet, no bike riding. Dare to care, even if your child (no matter what age) puts up a fuss. And, as an adult, be sure to set a good example by wearing your bike helmet.

• A family outing - to the park, a bike-ride, a picnic, a meal out.
• A game night at home - without the TV.
• Tossing the football or baseball around the front yard.
• Reading stories together before bedtime.

• Look for the most direct route to school with the fewest street crossings.
• Walk the route with children until they demonstrate good safety awareness (Stop, Look, and Listen before crossing).
• Teach children to obey traffic signs. Be sure to stop, look, and listen before crossing -even if you have a walk signal at a stoplight.
• Teach children to cross the street at a corner or crosswalk.
• Teach children to walk, not run, to cross the street, and to listen to crossing guards.
• Teach children to take extra precaution when weather is bad - when visibility is poor.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25^® and related logos and slogans (Check Your Speed^®/No Need To Speed^®, Stop! Take 3 To See^®, Stop Means Stop^®, Be Aware! Drive With Care^® and Seat Belts-FASTENATING!^®) are registered trademarks of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25, P.O. Box 45563 Omaha, Nebraska, 68145. No other entities may use these marks without prior permission. Call 402-334-1391 for information.