Today's Tip: Safe Travels

Children will be going back to school in Lemon Grove on Sept. 6. Each day this week we offer tips to help children and parents get ready.

Tips are provided by the Lemon Grove School District, and adapted from the Web site of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL

Car

• All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.
• All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger’s seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.

Bike

• Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride.
• Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic.

Walking to School

• Make sure your child's walk to a school is a safe route.
• Be realistic about your child's pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.
• If your children are young or are walking to a new school, walk with them the first week or until you are sure they know the route and can do it safely.
• Bright colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers.
• In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider starting a “walking school bus,” in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.