Back-to-School Tips to Keep Students Safe

Parents of Primary Students:

• Find a safe route to and from school and practice it with your children.
• Join an existing Walking School Bus or Bicycle Train, or start up your own with other parents in your neighborhood.
• Identify safe places along the route, such as a friend’s house, where your children can go if they encounter trouble.
• Discuss how to safely interact with strangers.
• Ensure your children understand traffic safety, such as how to cross the street, board the school bus and what to do and whom to contact in the event of a natural disaster.
• If your child has food allergies, co-ordinate with the school principal on an updated emergency plan that best meets your child’s needs.

Parents of Intermediate/Middle School Students:

• Help your children pack their backpacks, and ensure their backpacks weigh no more than 10 to 20 per cent of their body weight.
• Make sure your children use both shoulder straps when carrying their backpacks. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles and may even increase the curvature of their spines.
• Discuss your children’s safe route to school and ensure it is still effective. Note any changes in safe stops, such as friends moving to or from the neighborhood.
• Talk to your children about appropriate school behavior, and remind them what to do and whom to talk to if they encounter bullying, including online bullying.
• Help your children understand how to safely use the Internet and how to protect their privacy.

Parents of Secondary Students:

• Talk to your teenagers about being safe drivers and passengers. Let them know it is okay to say “no” to getting into a car with someone they feel is an unsafe driver.
• Encourage your teens to talk to you about issues that are important to them, including peer pressure, drugs and alcohol, and sexuality.
• Let your teenagers grow and help to provide them with a sense of confidence. This is the best defense against peer pressure.
  

 

Share