TIPS FOR CHILD SAFETY

For all the development that humanity has seen, their commonsense is yet to see even a minor upwards drift. Take Child-Care for instance, especially when transporting them. Holding a child’s hand on or near road.. How many people do it in the right way? On or Near the roads, the child must be held away from the road i.e to the left of the holder when the road/traffic is to his right and vice-versa and the walk must always be opposite to the direction of traffic i.e facing it. Children tend to get suddenly attracted and run towards their object of attraction which can be on the other side of the road or on it, endangering him/her. So parents must ensure that they never let go of the child’s hands and also hold it tightly enough to prevent escape. This rule is never followed especially by newly married couples who are too busy fondling each other to make sure their child’s hand is held constantly. Thanks to “ultra road grip” tires and Disk Brakes, vehicles, especially buses and bikes with rash drivers on them, zoom past close to the pavement, so close their handlebars nudge our elbows. What if its a child’s head it nudges a little to forcefully next time? And the “Style Statement” Crash Guards with the appearance of a Bull’s Horns do pedestrians no good either.

Another aspect of child safety with connection to roads is sending children out to do minor shopping, etc. When sending out children, it must be ensured that they are of enough age. If there’s an insistent younger brother/sister wanting to accompany the elder-one outside, allow it only if the elder one is obedient and capable of ensuring their safety. Never send them to places which will require them to cross roads. When giving money, it shouldn’t be given in hand noticeably, give them enough change and a carry bag so that there is no need for them to wait for change and packaging and also avoid their concentration being diverted to ensuring the safety of the goods they purchased and are holding in hand. Giving money noticeably or making them wait unnecessarily outside shops will only encourage kidnappers and thieves. Be careful when giving tricycles to be ridden on colony or neighborhood roads, cause on the roads they may appear too small for car drivers to notice. Give STRICT and CLEAR instructions when sending children out and ensure there is a responsible adult accompanying children on tricycles. It would be very useful if slips of paper with full home addresses were left in the child’s dress pockets always, along with some money for emergencies to make a call home etc.

Children in/on vehicles is another such area of insufficient commonsense application. Little kindergarten kids and and growing teenagers returning form evening or early-morning tuitions sitting behind their dads scooter’s are dazed by the cool air blowing in their face and tend to fall asleep sitting., while their parent remains oblivious to this fact. School children in overloaded and fast auto-rickshaws, especially the ones near the corners are facing risky probabilities of falling out of the vehicle and onto the road. Children left sitting on cycles near a shop his/her father has gone to, is another common sight. This is perilous because even a vehicle moving fast near the cycle is capable of toppling it to one side. This is true especially in India and other 3rd world countries where even the use of cycles as “family” transportation is still prominent. Think about the seriousness of a head injury to a child from falling off the bike or auto-rickshaw or cycle. It becomes unimaginably horrific if there is traffic following right behind the child.

There is need for education in adults regarding child safety and even about the need for using commonsense properly. God save the Earth and Humanity.