Fern Michonski / Fern’s Music
Pre-School Music Education Expert: The Children’s Advocate for Love and Kindness, Inspiring Creativity and Joy.
February 6, 2013—Safety Tips for Children Crossing the Street 
Teaching your children how to safely cross the street is a situation that makes every parent extremely nervous. Very young children don’t understand how dangerous the street really is. In addition to this, we need to teach our children how to board the school bus safely, which involves walking into the street. As a child, my parents always taught me not to play near the street and that I had to stop, look and listen before crossing. I also knew I could not cross the street without an adult accompanying me. However, in spite of all these directions, the day came when I was out waiting for the school bus with my older brother at my side. Along came the bus. It stopped, the flashing lights came on and I started to walk out into the street to cross in front of the bus. I was so excited that the bus had arrived that I totally forgot about the rules of crossing the street. As I stepped off the curb my brother screamed and grabbed me by the back of my jacket, pulling me backwards as a car went screeching past the bus, totally ignoring the flashing lights. I was shocked. The bus driver was horrified and my brother yelled into my ears, “Why didn’t you LOOK? Even though the flashing lights were on, you STILL have to Stop, Look and Listen!” My brother saved my life that day. I have no doubt that car would have hit me if my brother had not pulled me to safety. I never forgot how to cross the street safely again. However, that is not the best way to learn about street safety. So what can we do as parents to really bring the point home so our children are safe? Here are a few ideas I used with my own children and it definitely helped.
- Read books to your children often about crossing the street. You can find several in your local library or on Google. One I would recommend is “Kristofur Kitty-Crossing the Street” by Jennifer D. Hartmann.
- I always sang this little rhyme when I was crossing the street with my children: When you cross the street each day, you must cross the safety way, STOP—LOOK AND LISTEN. It is a fact that when you put a thought to music, it sticks in the memory better. Sing this to your children every single time you cross the road with them. They will remember it.
- We would go outside frequently and practice crossing the street. I would ask them, “Okay, what do we do first? Did you look right, left and then right again? Did you listen? Did you look? Do YOU think it is okay to cross now?” By asking them the questions, it really made them think about the situation, rather than just being TOLD what to do. I would ask my children if they thought it was safe for ME to cross. That really got their attention and made them feel smart.
- Read books about school bus safety as well as books about crossing the street. Given what happened to me as a child, I was especially concerned about getting on and off the school bus. I told my kids not to simply trust the flashing red school bus lights. First wait for the flashing lights to go on, and then go through all of the rules for crossing the street. Books about school bus safety are also in your local library. Here are a few you could look for: “Hello, School Bus” by Marjorie Blain Parker, “Safety on the School Bus” by Lucia Raatma and “My School Bus: A Book About School Bus Safety” by Heather Feldman.
- Go outside with your children during their early school bus rides and wait with them. When the bus arrives, ask them what the rules are. Ask them if the lights are flashing. Make them stop, look and listen before they hop onto the bus.
Following these suggestions will help children make safe decisions when they cross the street and get on the bus. As an adult, I watch carefully when a bus is slowing down and putting on their flashing lights. Be cautious. If you see a bus that does not have its’ flashing lights on while children are getting on and off, call the phone number on the bus and notice the number on the bus. All of these actions will make our children’s lives safer.