Share your tips on teaching kids about road safety with Churchill Insurance. Win a £300 Love2Shop voucher! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

Roads can be an intimidating place for children and a worrying place for parents, especially on the school run. Churchill Insurance wants to introduce extra lollipop men and women across Great Britain to help keep our children safe. Churchill would like to know how you teach your children about road safety. Which rules do you pass on about roads and cars? Do you have any fun and creative techniques to make them stick? How old were your children when you started teaching them – and how long did it take for things to sink in?

Lucy Brooksbank, Head of Marketing at Churchill, added: "Lollipoppers are the stalwarts of our communities, national treasures who bring fun and joy to everyone’s school run, as well as importantly keeping children safe. Churchill looks out for customer's best interests, so what better way to demonstrate that than by supporting our Lollipoppers and taking action to keep them on our streets? With child pedestrian casualties during the school run still an issue in the UK, we want to put 50 Lollipoppers on school crossings. We want people from across the UK, whether they are a parent or just concerned about a local crossing to nominate their schools and help to keep children safe during the school run.”

Please share your ideas about teaching road safety with Churchill Insurance below.
Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Make sure your school has a chance of receiving Lollipopper funding by nominating at //www.churchill.com/lollipoppers

Click here for full T&Cs

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

[lionheart]

Not only should you wait for the green man you should also be absolutely certain the cars have stopped before crossing.

[HandsomeGroomGiveHerRoom]

Cruising = crossing, obvs

[HandsomeGroomGiveHerRoom]

As well as the stop, look, listen thing and how to use a cruising, I demonstrated (repeatedly) how drivers wouldn't be able to see him, particularly when reversing, as he was too wee, by literally comparing his height to that of (empty) parked cars and demonstrating blind spots.

Don't assume a driver can see you in time, basically.

[serendipity1980]

I think it's really important to teach road safety from the time your children are walking/scooting/riding bikes on the road. I have always talked about looking and listening both ways, not crossing between parked cars. We walk to school every day so it is ingrained in them but they still need reminding. We also talk about wearing hi vis jackets and looking out for electric cars.

[kayleigh39]

I've always been strict when it comes to roads, but we are fortunate enough to live a very small village with one road running through it. The road is well away from our house, but then ids know that if they are to cross the road the stop - look and listen and then look again. If in any doubt, they don't cross. We watch videos regularly online that showcase the dangers of roads - so the kids are pretty clued up!

[Annabel2014]

We have introduced road safety as soon as the children started to walk. At every crossing we always get them to look left, look right and look left again and even the youngest who does not yet understand knows that there is something that happens at each road. We also always hold hands.

[Wjjkl]

Set a good example and don't let them get away with not crossing correctly (holding hands etc) even once.

[CheeseAtFourpence]

I always tell them what I was taught - the green cross code. I talk through what we are doing. Stop before the kerb, look both ways, ask are there any cars coming, always walk, don't run etc. When at a crossing wait for the green man, and wait for cars to have stopped.

I reiterate this EVERY time we come to cross.

[gadfly90]

A mangonel and a parachute will safely deliver my child anywhere she needs to go.

[EasterRobin]

I've been talking DD through the process of crossing roads since she was a baby, explaining that we're stopping at the side of the road, pressing the button on the traffic lights, waiting for the green man and then having a final check before walking straight to the other side. I'm hoping this will make it seem common sense when she's old enough to walk across.

[Ratbagcatbag]

My dd is just three but we have already made it clear that we expect her to wait once we have her out of the car seat until one of us holds her hand.
We always use crossings and wait for the green man
Practice looking both ways and then crossing sensibly but quickly.
My dd can be a bolter so we have had to drill this into her (even though she has very few opportunities to run off).

[Laflouder]

As well as making sure they stop, look and listen, we talk about where the best place to cross the road might be when we are walking somewhere. For example, discussing why it might not be safe to cross on a corner, near parked cars, checking whether there is a pedestrian crossing nearby that could be used etc. We also remind them to look out for cyclists, not just cars and larger vehicles

[treeagate]

I never cross at a crossing until I see the green man and make sure my kids always do it too. You see lots of people crossing when the road is clear but the man is still red. I worry that other people's children would follow me into the road thinking it's safe or would try and cross by themselves when the lights are not on red

[tishist]

Use rhymes to instill road codes

[lucyrobinson]

I get my kids to look with me when checking to cross the road. We use proper crossings when we can. I talk about checking twice and being careful.

[Spices001]

Stop look listen, keep looking while crossing... Our mantra, drives my daughter mad but it's stuck in her head

[cathyov]

Used to play with the ELC town map and role play with the characters and play cars - even teddies were taught the road safety rules!

[Jocelynne123]

I set up a 'road' with her toys and made her teach her dolls how to cross safely. I then did got her older cousin to ask Jessica to 'teach' her. Because she was playing teacher she remembered everything

[piggypoo]

We used to say to the little ones, at pelican crossings, Red for stay steady Teddy, Amber for get ready Teddy, and Green for safe to go Teddy, they always used to love to say it, and it got them thinking and more aware of the dangers of traffic. :)

[Lydia30]

Lots of practise crossing the road, at crossings but only when the signal sounds, at zebra crossings make sure the cars have actually stopped before stepping out.

[bc1616]

Never cross the road wearing earphones

[annmariec]

I teach from very young age when my son was in the pushchair, we would always make a game of it like waiting for the green man to come up or we would stand by the side of the road and would have to look left right and left again before we crossed

[happysouls]

Teach them over and over and always remember that they are so easily distracted. Let them take charge of your safety so they can feel how important it is! Always make sure they realise the danger of being distracted. They can be so good most of the time, but it only takes one quick moment for it all to go wrong...football out on the road, or seeing a friend. They need to be aware of this and think about it.

[sarsar123]

Always cross the road in a safe place, narrating what you are doing Stop, look and listen. Play together at home with small world toys, pretend the little people need to cross the road. Loads of talking!!!!

[windowmouse]

Make it fun or into a game and help them understand how important it is