BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY TIPS FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS

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With schools opening today and the new academic year officially beginning for many learners in South Africa, we at EC Security have put together a few tips to assist you with your young schoolchildren and to protect your precious loved ones from harm. Remember safety is a priority to for every family as children return to classrooms. Parents must stay up-to-date on the proper safety precautions and share this information with their children to keep them safe throughout the school year.

TRAVELLING TO AND FROM SCHOOL

1. Plan a walking route to school or the bus stop. Choose the most direct way with the fewest street crossings and, if possible, with intersections that have crossing guards.

2. Walk the route with your child beforehand. Tell him or her to stay away from parks, vacant lots, fields and other places where there aren’t many people around.

• Review your family’s walking safety rules.
• Walk on the sidewalk / pavement, if one is available. When on a street with no sidewalk / pavement, walk facing traffic
• Before you cross the street, stop and look all ways to see if cars are coming.
• Never dart out in front of a parked car.
• Practice walking to school with your child

3. Teach your child never to talk to strangers or accept rides or gifts from strangers. Remember, a stranger is anyone you or your children don’t know well or don’t trust.

4. Be sure your child walks to and from school with a sibling, friend, or neighbour.

5. Teach your kids — whether walking, biking, or riding the bus to school — to obey all traffic signals, signs and traffic officers. Remind them to be extra careful in bad weather
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6. When driving kids, deliver and pick them up as close to the school as possible. Don’t leave until they are in the schoolyard or building

7. If your child bikes to school, make sure he wears a helmet that meets one of the safety standards Research indicates that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.

• Make sure your child always wears his helmet when leaving the house.
• Teach your children the rules of the road they need to know to ride their bicycles.
• Ride on the left side of the road and in a single file.
• Come to a complete stop before crossing the street

8. Teach children to arrive at the bus stop early, stay out of the street, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching the street, watch for cars and avoid the driver’s blind spot.

9. Remind your children to stay seated at all times and keep their heads and arms inside the bus while riding. When exiting the bus, children should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop, exit from the front using the handrail to avoid falls and cross the street at least 10 feet (or 10 giant steps) in front of the bus.

10. Tell your child not to bend down in front of the bus to tie shoes or pick up objects, as the driver may not see him before starting to move.

11. Be sure that your child knows his or her home phone number and address, your work number, the number of another trusted adult and how to call  10111 for emergencies

PREVENTING BACKPACK-RELATED INJURIES

• Chose a backpack for your child carefully. It should have ergonomically designed features to enhance safety and comfort
• Don’t overstuff a backpack; it should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of your child's body weight
• Ask your children to use both straps when wearing their backpack to evenly distribute the weight

PREVENTING PLAYGROUND RELATED INJURIES

•  Encourage your child only to use playgrounds with a soft surface. Avoid playgrounds with concrete, grass and dirt surfaces, as they are too hard.
• Children under the age of four should not use climbing equipment and watch older children while they're climbing
• Do not let your children use monkey bars. They are unsafe and should not be used by children of any age