Age specific advice
Parents and carers are a child's best road safety teacher. Why? Because basic road safety is best taught on the street when children are out with their parents/carers.
They will follow your example good or bad, so they need to be informed from an early age of the dangers of the road.
You should not wait for the school to teach road safety. It is your responsibility to give your children the basic safety skills:
- Ages 1 to 4 - Protect your child:never let a child younger than five out alone. They cannot cope with traffic, even with an older child. Choose somewhere safe for children to play, never on the pavement or in the road. When children are out walking they should walk on the inside of the pavement keeping a tight hold of their hand;
- Ages 5 to 6 - Basic road safety training: whenever you are out walking you should talk about what you are doing and why. Start teaching the main points: Stop, Look, Listen, Think;
- Ages 7 to 9 - Green Cross Code: now is the time to start explaining the rules of the Green Cross Code; and
- Ages 10 to 15 - Thinking for themselves: keep talking to your children about the dangers on the road point out people who are putting themselves or others in danger.
Stress to children that they should never follow others across the road. They must always think for themselves.