Saturday, August 18, 2018

Sending your kids back to school can be a fun, exciting time. But make sure to keep safety top of mind, and have a few important conversations with your children before they head for the bus.

To help ensure a safer back-to-school season, the National Safety Council recommends:

Riding the bus. Children are 70 times more likely to get to school safely by taking the bus rather than riding in a car. The National Safety Council urges parents to put their children on the bus and calls on all states to pass laws requiring three-point seat belts on all buses to maximize safety.

Avoiding teen carpools. A single, young passenger increases a teen driver's fatal crash risk 44 percent. If teens drive to school, they should do so alone–no friends or siblings should ride with them.

Walking attentively and in groups. On average, one child dies per day after being hit by a car in the United States. These preventable deaths increase sharply after school and remain high through the evening, peaking in October. Children and teens should avoid texting while walking, remove headphones before crossing the street, use designated crosswalks and never assume a vehicle will stop.

Buying the right backpack. A backpack should not weigh more than 5 to 10 percent of a child's weight. It should never be wider or longer than your child's torso, and never hang lower than 4 inches from the waist. Padded straps, hip and chest belts, multiple compartments and compression straps can also help. Parents should have children clean out their backpacks regularly and remove unnecessary items.

Checking the playground. Most playground injuries are related to falls or problems with equipment. Parents should look for hazards like cracks, rust, splits in wood, sharp edges, tripping hazards, platforms without guardrails or loose bolts. Equipment should stand on either rubber, sand or wood chips, and never on pavement. Notify the school immediately if anything looks unsafe.

Advocating for concussion education. Every three minutes, a child is treated in the emergency room for a sports-related concussion. Check with school leadership to ensure coaches are educated about the signs and symptoms of a concussion.

Planning around sleep schedules. School-aged children need 9-11 hours of sleep each night, and teens need 8-10 hours. Sleep deprivation can lead to serious issues including inability to concentrate in class, lower test scores, stunted growth and acne. Fatigued teens are at increased risk of a car crash. Plan school and extracurricular activities so they do not impact children's ability to get enough sleep.

Source: nsc.org/backtoschool

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