Small girl holding mother's hand on zebra crossing. Mother guiding her daughter while walking a cross the street.

5 Important Things to Teach Your Children About Car and Road Safety

Ensuring that your kids are car and road-safety-savvy is not just vital—it needs to become a way of life for them so you’ll somehow feel confident of their safety.

Also, teaching them all the safety precautions early on will help them adjust and take their learning to heart.

It’s best to let them understand first what safety is all about and why it is most important.

Then, you can proceed with your dos and don’ts about car and road safety and how cool it is to master them.

A Kid Riding a Bike while wearing a helmet

Car and Road Safety Lessons for the Young Ones

  1. Look Both Ways, Twice

A vital street-savvy mantra, like “Look Both Ways, Twice,” can be quite helpful for kiddos while crossing a street with care.

This reminder may seem fun, and kids might just love repeating them. Still, it’s best that they understand how important it is for them to be safe at all times.

Always guide them in crossing the street with care, especially when traveling. Teach them to look for and walk through pedestrian lanes if available.

Otherwise, stick to their road safety goals, look first to the left, then right, and a second look to the left and right before stepping on the road.

It needs to become an automatic habit for them over time. Safety first is one lesson that kids need to know the earliest, even before starting school.

  1. Hold Hands and Stick Together

It’s safest to teach your kiddos not to cross the street alone, and you can never overemphasize that they’re safe if they have an adult with them. 

Teach them more safety tips while you hold hands to physically connect and set the example of holding on to someone they trust.

Always make it a point to let them know the importance of never letting go of your or a trusted adult’s hand whenever crossing or near the road.

  1. Handy Crash Course

You may have your kids master the precautions so they are always on the safer side of the road, but what do they do if they get involved or a friend does get into an accident?

Falling debris, malfunctioning bikes or cars, and other incidents might leave them shocked and helpless.

That’s why it’s best to teach them what to do should these untoward things happen.

Kids and young teens have to learn how to be calm and efficient, creating for them a responsible mindset, like deep breathing and taking pictures.

Teach them, first and foremost, to call you or the authorities, assess their injuries, and move to safety. 

Introduce also the importance of legal help, where they can find some compiled answers to most asked questions about road accidents. This knowledge and firsthand experience will help them understand their role in their own safety.

  1. Spot the Traffic Lights

Make knowing and learning the laws and rules fun, like spotting the traffic light game. It’s where you turn their attention to the meaning of traffic colors and how each color relates to their safety.

Teach them that red means stop, and they might get hit by cars if they don’t take heed. 

Green means go aand it issafe for them to cross, and yellow light means drivers should slow down to prepare for the full stop at red.

  1. Seat Fastened, Helmet On

It might look like a sash, which kids might find fun, but it’s best to ensure they know how it works for their safety.

Buckling up, like wearing a superhero cape, can help kids imagine how safer they are if they always wear one inside the car.

Also, never starting the engine without a seatbelt on can help make it clear that it needs to be their car ride habit. 

Teaching them about never starting their bike without a helmet on is also like a superhero cap that just can’t be separated when on the go.

It’s one pretty thing that they have to learn not to be without whenever they look for their bike. You’ll always be reassured they’re somehow protected if they’ve kept the helmet on habit.

Conclusion

Keeping kids on the safe side of the road all the time can be a tedious but fulfilling job, knowing they’ll always be farther from harm, even if you’re not around.

Teaching them these tricks can help them become responsible for themselves, too. So, always look for opportunities to teach them to prioritize safety and simple prevention measures.

It’s going to be their full responsibility as they grow up anyway–why not start when they’re sweeter, trusting, and can easily adapt to the habit?