Teaching kids to cross the road alone is fraught with danger, uncertainty and anxiety. But its an essential part of your child’s journey to independence. Growing up is exciting and challenging for children and the process of guiding them from baby to adult is full with difficult decisions for parents. This step by step guide shows parents how to teach their kids to cross the road independently and without anxiety. We focus on those children aged between 7-11 years old and the transition from road crossing with a parent to becoming an independent traveller.
Read our Crossing the Road story here.
STOP: Before letting any child in your care start crossing the road independently – make sure you both know the relevant road safety rules and guidelines in your area.
Teaching Kids to Cross the Road Safely: A Step by Step Guide
1. Prepare Yourself...
Growing up is inevitable. No-one can slow or stop this process and children can often reach their next stage of independence before we as parents are ready. So, whatever age your child is at, take a moment to think about the next phase of their journey.
What they will need to know to achieve the next step of road crossing? Are they in the habit of stopping when reaching the edge of the pavement? Do they look and listen independently or reach for you? Do they know what risks they should be looking out for? Can they make informed decisions?
You need to evaluate where your kid is at in order to decide on your next steps.
2. Start Walking...
This may seem like an obvious, essential piece of advice when it comes to road crossing, but its not always that convenient. But this is vital for those children in their pre-teen transitional years. Get walking and get talking.
Talk about where to choose to cross, what unusual road vehicles to look out for such as bikes, where the local pedestrian-crossings are. Start to let them see your decision making processes when you are crossing roads.
Now is the time for them to start utilising all the information that they have stored in somewhere in their brains from road safety talks and walking with you. To start getting some on-hands experience with the safety net of you being there.
3. Find Your Courage...
And then the moment will come. Sooner than you would like if you have extremely independent child who has always wanted to fly before they could walk, never mind running. It’s crunch time. You’ve done the prep, you know deep down that you need to let them loose and now they also want to stretch their wings.
Firstly make a safe decision. Don’t let them cross a busy road for their first time. Don’t choose a time when everyone is tired or cross. Feel free to say no but, and here is the important bit, offer an alternative.
Find a familiar quiet road that they could try first. Use pedestrian-crossings if you can but let them do it alone. By allowing and enabling your kids to cross the road, you are preparing them for the next stage of their lives.
4. Check in Regularly...
Learning to cross the road safely takes time and practice. As roads, vehicles and routes are constantly changing, it’s easy to forget the basics.
So check in with your child that the route that they are walking is still working for them. Are their still safe areas to cross? Have roadworks changed anything or made it more challenging?
And as the months change it’s good to think about the light and how that will affect their level of safety while road crossing. Think about reflective strips for bags to help your child be more visible in the winter months.
5. Share Your Story...
Independent road crossing is an exciting but challenging step for your child to take. Some children are desperate to do it while others will find this extremely daunting. Not all children are the same or develop at the same pace.
So, be aware of the stage your child is at and work from there. Share with them what your expectations are for safe road crossing and how you want to get them. Let them share with your their frustrations or fears.
And take a moment with a close friend or partner to safely share your own fears regardless of how silly you feel. You might just find out that they feel exactly the same.
Teach Kids to Cross the Road Safely
Get familiar with the Green Cross Code to be safe when crossing the road.
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