Teach Your Children About School Safety

Years ago when I was a student, parents rarely worried about safety at school. But in today's decadent culture of everything from crazed terrorists to sick pedophiles, safety is an ever-growing issue concerning both students and their parents. Regardless of the grade level of your children, there are dangerous concerns that need to be taken seriously...

Preschool to elementary school

Safety begins as early as pre-school. Here the main threat to students isn't terrorism or school shootings (although there have been a few occurrences such as the dreadful school shooting at a Pennsylvania Amish school last fall). In the early grades, kidnapping is more of a threat to students. Haven worked as a substitute teacher in elementary schools, I know how important it is to make sure small children get on their proper buses and how school officials are careful to make sure no one picks up children except parents who are authorized to do so. Here are a few other concerns regarding elementary school students and safety....

Playground safety---Tragically, I had a college roommate whose preschooler was killed on a school playground years ago. Last year more than 200,000 American children had playground accidents serious enough to send them to hospital emergency rooms. As most injuries happen when a child falls from playground equipment, parents and teachers need to make sure their school playgrounds are safe and up to code standards. Your child's playground must be checked regularly to be sure it's free of hazards such as rocks and concrete footings that can cause children to easily trip and get hurt. Tell your children to look out for glass, nails, and other materials on the ground that can hurt them. Teachers should be doing this, but it's also wise to make your kids aware of these dangers. Make sure surfaces surrounding playground equipment have at least a foot of wood chips, mulch, sand, etc. Watch out for any sharp edges on playground equipment. And, make sure enough adults are on duty during recess and that they're equipped with walkie-talkies.