Safety tips for back to school

All Students and Parents: 

* Ensure your children always wear a helmet and other protective gear 
when playing sports, riding their bikes, using scooters or 
skateboarding. Ensure helmets fit properly and that your children secure 
the chin strap every time they go for a ride. 

* Drivers are reminded to watch their speed in school zones to ensure 
safe pedestrian traffic. Starting Monday, Sept 20, new changes to the 
Motor Vehicle Act will trigger a seven-day impoundment of your car if 
you're caught speeding 40 km or more over the posted speed limit! 

Primary Students: 

* Find a safe route to and from school and practise it with your 
children. 

* Join an existing Walking School Bus or Bicycle Train, or start up your 
own with other parents in your neighbourhood. Visit 
http://www.dashbc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=80

* Identify safe places along the route, such as a friend's house, where 
your children can go if they encounter trouble. 

* Discuss how to safely interact with strangers: 
www.safekidsbc.ca/parent_street_proofing.htm* Ensure your children understand traffic safety, such as how to cross 
the street, board the school bus and what to do and whom to contact in 
the event of a natural disaster. 

* If your child has anaphylaxis, coordinate with the school principal on 
an updated emergency plan that best meets your child's needs. 

Intermediate/Middle Students: 

* Help your children pack their backpacks, and ensure their backpacks 
weigh no more than 10 to 20 per cent of their body weight. 

* Make sure your children use both shoulder straps when carrying their 
backpacks. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles and 
may even increase the curvature of their spines. 

* Discuss your children's safe route to school and ensure it is still 
effective. Note any changes in safe stops, such as friends moving to or 
from the neighbourhood. 

* Talk to your children about appropriate school behaviour, and remind 
them what to do and whom to talk to if they encounter bullying, 
including online bullying. 

* Help your children understand how to safely use the Internet and how 
to protect their privacy. 

Secondary Students: 

* Talk to your teenagers about being safe drivers and passengers. Let 
them know it is okay to say "no" to getting into a car with someone they 
feel is an unsafe driver. 

* Encourage your teens to talk to you about issues that are important to 
them, including peer pressure, drugs and alcohol, and healthy sexual 
decision making. 

* Let your teenagers grow and help provide them with a sense of 
confidence. This is the best defence against peer pressure.