Nursery World - Learning and Development: Road Safety

Childcarers in any setting can do a lot to keep young children safe around roads and teach them good practice, says Viv Hampshire.

It is a frightening fact that more than 1,100 children aged between one and five were killed or injured as pedestrians on Britain's roads during 2006. There is no reason to believe that the statistics for later years will be any more reassuring.

Young children have difficulty judging speed and making reasoned decisions about their safety. It is generally agreed that a child should not be expected to cross the road alone until around the age of eight. But it is never too soon to start teaching children the importance of road safety, and there are many ways that we can introduce early awareness of the potential dangers and how best to avoid them.

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