Safety tips are like good manners. Everybody knows what they are, but it doesn't hurt to jog the memory now and then.
So it is with the upcoming back-to-school bustle in Utah. School safety almost always boils down to common sense, but expecting grade-schoolers and teens to show sense probably shows a lack of it in ourselves. So, to take the guesswork out of preventing accidents, more than a dozen Web sites — from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and American Academy of Pediatrics to CBS News — have posted checklists of safety concerns that parents should keep in mind as their children head off to school. Below, we've gleaned five tips that seem especially apropos.
1. Do your homework. Check out several routes to school. Make sure your children are not only following the shortest route, but the safest. Know who lives along the route and where a child can go for help if he or she needs to.
2. For grade-schoolers, make sure sweatshirts and jackets have no drawstrings around the neck. Drawstrings getting caught on playground equipment can lead to frightening moments.
3. Don't fill the heads of "latchkey kids" with a lot of "don'ts." Be positive. Instead of staying "Don't let strangers in," say, "Keep the doors shut." Kids at home are also more likely to face dangers from things such as burning popcorn or tripping down stairs than harm from an individual. Make sure children know what's permitted around the house. Finally, have a certain time every day when they will call you and let you know they are fine. That will eliminate a lot of needless worry.
4. In today's schools, technology rules. But just as parents should not try to drive and talk on the cell phone, children should not try to walk to or from school — especially crossing streets — while texting, playing video games or listening to music through headphones. Focus and alertness are everything — for the parents as well as the child.
5. Finally, get active. Parents have more clout with school safety issues than they realize. If you feel your child's school needs signs, safety gates or new paint on the pavement, get a few parents together and make the request. It's better than waiting for a tragedy.