August is Back to School Safety Month - SERVPRO is here with some tips to help your family and community

8/23/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO is here to help... Back to School Safety is an important part to keeping our children and our community safe during back-to-school chaos.

Back to School Safety Tips

The Beginning of school needs some extra attention from everyone.

Back to school has been challenging lately, it’s a difficult transition during the best of times. Adding some extra attention to your preparations and routines this year can help ease the transition for families, and communities alike. SERVPRO is proud to support our local community during property crisis situations, we encourage every family and neighbor to take extra caution traveling during school days and practice school safety with your family and friends.

Pay Extra Attention to your family and your morning driving routine while school starts and throughout the year.

According to research by the National Safety Council, most of the children who lose their lives in bus-related incidents are 4 to 7 years old, and they’re walking. They are hit by the bus, or by a motorist illegally passing a stopped bus.

Prepare your family and students for the start of school
Transitioning back to school can bring mixed emotions, even children familiar with the changes that come with a school routine can need some extra attention during the first days and weeks of school.

• Practice, practice, practice! Learning how to get ready each morning for the trip to school takes time and practice. It’s helpful to practice this before the actual first day. Pretend it’s a school day, and go through the steps of getting up, dressed, fed, and out the door.
• Try to make after-school time a bit special, with a snack and time for the two of you to chat. Talk to your child about his feelings about school, friends, teachers, and new activities.
• Make a portable family album. You can’t stay with your child all year, but your photos can! The process of making a photo album together is a bonding and comforting project. Use a small, soft plastic album (available at most dollar stores) that can be easily washed, carried, and kissed!
• Give your child lots of love and support, whatever you are feeling show that you are excited and enthusiastic about your child starting school. This sends your child the positive message that school is exciting and that they’ll cope and have fun. Be patient if your child wants to blurt out every little detail about school or clams up completely. You could try saying something like, ‘Tell me one good thing about your day’, rather than asking lots of questions.
• Choose a lunch box that has an easy-to-open lid. Your child can practice using the lunch box during a picnic lunch at home or in the park. Ask your child what kind of snack she wants to bring. Shop together for the ingredients and engage her in the making and packing of the snack.

Sharing the Road with Young Pedestrians & School Buses
Traffic safety is also key to keeping children safe.

• Take extra precaution traveling through neighborhoods look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all residential areas.
• Slow down and drive extra cautiously. In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection.
• Don’t block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic.
• When school bus lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop. Never pass a bus from behind – or from either direction if you’re on an undivided road – if it is stopped to load or unload children.
• Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks. The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to al-low them space to safely enter and exit the bus.

Back to School Safety is an important component to keeping our children and our community safe during the chaos back-to-school routines can bring. SERVPRO and our team know that observing safety precautions and community support make a big difference in avoiding an emergency. These tips can help your family and neighborhood transition to a successful and safe start to a New School Year!