Holding Hands Is More Than A Sign Of Affection

The other day, my mom eyes (you know, the ones on the back of your head) caught sight of my eight-year-old son as he was darting out from our parked car right into oncoming traffic. My Ninja-like reflexes sprang into action. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, just as any good mother in the animal kingdom does to get the immediate attention of her wayward offspring, and pulled him to safety. I gave him the stern lecture about parking lot rules for what I believe to be the bazillionth time since he took his first steps at the age of 14 months. The seriousness of my words melted him into a puddle of tears, but he needs to learn how to stay safe. My son, like other children his age, is impulsive, impatient, and inattentive, and he does not have ADD. His young mind is distracted by the way the wind blows, "Puffles", and coming up with another reason why he can't clean his room. In addition, he is completely incapable of just walking anywhere, his choice of forward motion is a jump, lunge, or gallop. I know from all my child development classes that children do not fully their develop depth perception or spatial awareness until the tween years. When you add in impaired judgment of speed and distance and the usual clumsiness of a growing body, my son (and every other child) is a walking, talking accident waiting to happen. Fortunately, I have managed to keep him from harm's way and have every intention of continuing this trend, even if it means that I occasionally dent his self-esteem. My thought is that tears and sadness can be fixed with a big hug and an "I love you", where as an injured brain...not so much. Within minutes following this incident, I knew all was fine with him as his little hand grabbed onto mine when we reached the corner of the street and safely crossed it together.

I share this little tale as children everywhere are heading back to school. They will be spending more time out of view of your watchful eye. According to a recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), approximately 900 pedestrians younger than 19 years of age are killed each year. Additionally, another 51,000 children are injured as pedestrians and about 10% of these children require hospitalization for their injuries. It is suggested by the AAP that children 10 years and younger be supervised when crossing the street or when in other areas with vehicular traffic. You need to be aware of pedestrian safety and review it often with your children, no matter what their age is. Use those teachable moments to your advantage, whenever or wherever they occur. There is a great song called "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle" by They Might Be Giants. With its toe-tapping xylophonic refrain, this memorable tune teaches young kids the basics of safely crossing the street. For additional information about pedestrian safety for children, please refer to Safe Kids USA. Since 2000, their initiative, "Safe Kids Walk This Way", has provided pedestrian safety education around the world. So whether you use a song, a safety tip sheet, or teach your children the rules of the road (and parking lot) by rote, just remember to hold their hands too.

http://www.usa.safekids.org/wtw/