Their safety is in our hands.

When out walking with children, hold their hand or hold them close. This is the most effective way of keeping children safe from traffic injury.

If you hold onto children, you can stop them running into a situation that might be dangerous. But sometimes a child doesn’t want to be held. What do you do?

Don’t worry – all children complain about holding hands at one time or another.

Sometimes they don’t understand how this will keep them safe or they may just want to do it their way. By making family rules about safe walking, explaining them and then sticking to them, you are helping your child learn how to become a safer pedestrian.

Use these road safety messages:

• “Whenever we are out walking, we hold hands.”
• “If we can’t hold hands, you can keep close by holding onto me, the bag or the stroller.”
• “There’s no running ahead.”

When holding your child’s hand, use the opportunity to talk with the child about:

• Where it is safe to walk and cross the road.
• When it is safe to walk and cross the road.
• The need to stop and wait at the side of the road before crossing.
• What to look for.
• What to listen for.
• Why they have to keep checking until they are safely across the road or the driveway.