It’s important to educate the kids on the importance of staying safe and adhering to the traffic rules at an early stage, whether they are planning to drive or not. But, with road safety being such a broad subject, how should you go about introducing and executing the lesson? Here are extremely smart ideas that will enable you go about teaching kids the importance of road safety.
Introduce the Subject:
Introducing this subject should never be a problem. To get started, find a story relating to road safety. It may have to do with an accident, injury, death or arrest. Then, let the kids’ voice in their opinions or experiences. For instance, if they have ever witnessed an accident, or have been affected either directly or indirectly, let them talk about it. At this point, you can have everyone analyze the situation and give their take on what may have caused the accident and how they think it could have been prevented.
Bring an Expert:
The best way to make the kids aware of the existing traffic rules and the importance of practicing road safety is to bring in an expert to talk to them. In this case, the expert can be a police officer or an emergency service provider such as a paramedic. Other than a professional educating them on what’s required of them when it comes to road safety, s/he can engage them in practical lessons to further drive the message home. As such, the professional can make use of visual aids or even, take the kids out on the road and teach them a few basics. For instance, s/he can practically teach and test the kids’ skills by asking them to read and interpret the traffic lights, interpreting various road signs and what to do and what not to do when crossing the road.
Get The Kids Involved In Road Safety Campaigns:
There are many ways which you can make this happen. For instance, you can get them involved in a campaign whose aim is to raise funds to enhance road safety or, volunteer in campaigns that do the same. Some of these campaigns may have to do with putting more bumps, erecting more road signs or designating areas where pedestrians and most especially school going kids can cross the road (zebra crossing). A great time to execute these campaigns would be during the Road Safety Week.
Test The Kids:
How else will you know that the kids have taken in the lessons if you don’t test them? The test could take different forms. It can be in the form of writing an essay, filling in what different road signs means, painting or drawing posters or, demonstrations – such as demonstrating how one ought to wear a seat belt. Above all, encourage the kids to become road safety ambassadors. You can do this by encouraging them to start by passing along the message to their younger siblings as well as to other members of the community.
