At what age can children return from school on their own - and how do you prepare them for this?
Until the age of 9 it is forbidden to cross the road alone, but even after that age there are important tools that must be purchased before returning home alone from school.
Here's everything you need to know
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health
05/09/2022
Monday, September 05, 2022, 05:54 Updated: 07:49
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Not before the age of 9, and sometimes not even after.
A boy crossing a road (Photo: ShutterStock)
The children have returned to school, and this is exactly the time of the year when many parents ask themselves if their child is ready to make his way from school to home on his own.
The clear rule is that a child up to the age of 9 is not allowed to cross a road alone.
But the reality is more complex, and not every child past the age of 9 is ready to return home alone.
In fact, before starting to walk alone, our children must go through a process of acquiring a skill and knowing the rules, which for adults are self-evident, but unknown to children.
There are many dangers that children are not aware of, and they are unable to correctly estimate distance and reaction time.
Children under the age of 9 do not have the physical abilities to deal with road hazards due to their low height, limited field of vision, difficulty in assessing and impulsivity.
Even after the age of 9, and since every child has a different rate of development, the path to safe walking is through guidance and accompaniment, while paying attention to the rate of development, the child's ability to concentrate, emotional maturity and, of course, a personal example and detailed explanations.
"The data shows that children in the age group of 10-14 are at a higher risk of a car accident as pedestrians," explains Orly Silbinger, CEO of Beter for Child Safety. Silbinger added that the period of the beginning of independent walking is dangerous, because children do not have the cognitive and developmental abilities to deal with situations A risk like that of an adult. "Only a process of learning, guidance and accompaniment done by the parents can give them the right tools to get through the school year safely," she said.
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So how do you prepare children for safe walking?
Here are the rules of organization experts before child safety:
1. Know the rules:
teach the children the rules of the road - direction of travel, traffic signs and traffic circles.
2. Different roads:
experience walking in different road conditions such as small and main roads, crossing at a T-junction, a road without a crosswalk, one-way, multi-lane roads, etc.
3. Making decisions:
When walking with the children, ask them to decide when to cross.
Have a conversation about preventing outbursts, distractions and eye contact with the drivers - make sure the drivers stop at all routes and avoid using mobile phones while crossing.
Put your phone in your pocket and cross without distractions.
A child crosses a road and looks at a mobile phone (Photo: ShutterStock)
4. Training and examination:
not all children are ready to walk independently at the same age.
Before allowing the child to cross a road alone, an examination is conducted to make sure that the child has understood and assimilated the rules of safe crossing and is ready to walk alone.
5. Begin to introduce the child to the rules of movement from an early age.
Towards the age of 9, his abilities to make a safe decision when crossing a road are tested and tested.
Nine important rules for safe crossing
Before crossing, stop at the edge of the sidewalk and look to the sides to recognize that the road is empty
On a road with two lanes in the same direction of travel, wait until both lanes are free.
If the driver in the nearest lane has stopped, pass carefully and make sure that the far lane is also free
At the traffic light, cross only with a green light
Make sure the field of vision is open, if not - go down a little towards the road, stop and observe
On a road with two lanes in different directions, look to both sides and make sure the road is clear
We make eye contact with the driver, only after we have made sure that the driver saw us and stopped - cross the road
While crossing the road, put the phone in your pocket and cross without distractions
During riding - get off the bike while crossing the road
Crossing on foot only.
Do not run on the road
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