Back to School Safety Tips!

Now that summer is about over, it's time to get ready for your children to head back to school!  While you may be doing some last minute shopping for new clothes and school supplies, we want to share five crucial tips that all parents, guardians, and teachers should know to help your child be prepared and safe at school.  According to the National Safety Council, the five most important back-to-school safety tips include the following:

1.  Purchase an appropriate backpack size.  It may be tempting to buy a larger size so that your child will have time to grow into it (and will of course save you some money), but purchasing a larger size backpack will give your child more room to put extra items in it that can lead to possible back strain and neck pain.  Also, make sure to show your child how to fix the straps so that the weight of the backpack is evenly distributed.
2. Avoid excessively stuffing backpacks.  Now that you have the right size backpack for your child, teach your child that overstuffing their backpack can potentially cause them back and/or neck problems if done consistently.  The total weight of a backpack should be no more than 10-20 percent of the child’s total body weight.   
3. Practice transportation safety.  Whether your child walks to school or takes a bus, talk to them about the importance of safety while getting to and from school.  For children that walk to school, practice looking both ways before crossing the street and teach them to always walk on the sidewalk.  For children that take the bus, make sure that they stand at the bus pickup at least 6 feet away from the road and to remain seated on the bus until they arrive at their destination.
4. Talk to your child about safe and unsafe playground surfaces.  Although every school playground may vary, surfaces that are considered more safe include; sand, wood chips, and rubber mats.  Encourage your young child to play in this type of area and to avoid playing on wet ground, concrete, and packed earth.
5. Teach children under 4 to avoid climbing playground equipment.  Younger children have a higher risk of head and/or bodily injury on playground equipment due to falling.  Teach children under 4 years old not to climb on playground equipment without the help of an authorized adult or older child.

As most of you already know, children spend the majority of their life at school.  Practicing and teaching good habits at an early age can greatly help prevent harm to your child throughout their school career.  What is your most important back to school tip?

Was your child wrongfully injured?