Road safety is an important topic for children of all ages. It is especially crucial for young children between the ages of 3 and 5. Children in this age group are beginning to explore the world around them. They are very active, and you can find them playing around in their neighborhood. Therefore, they must know how to stay safe near roads and vehicles.
Activities can help learn about road safety by providing hands-on and interactive learning experiences. These can also make the learning experience more engaging and memorable, allowing increased retention of the information. Plus, activities can also help to reinforce key concepts and skills related to road safety. Keeping this in mind, we have curated this article to share with you some interesting road safety activities you can do with little children.
Essential road safety rules for little kids
Talking about road safety for little kids, here are the primary safety rules we must make them aware of –
- Always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road.
- Look both ways before crossing.
- Always use a crosswalk to get to the other side of the street.
- Never run or chase a ball into the street.
- Make sure you Stop, Look, and Listen before crossing the street.
- Always put on a helmet when riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard.
- Walk on sidewalks, if available, and avoid walking on the street.
- Obey traffic signals, such as stop signs and traffic lights.
- Never play in areas where you find moving cars and other vehicles.
- Never keep your hand out of the window.
It is good to remember that little kids have shorter attention spans, and their understanding of the rules may not be as deep as adults. Therefore, repetition is the key. With frequent repetition and consistent guidance, young kids imbibe this vital lifesaving information.
Fun activities to raise road safety awareness among kids
1. Safe Road Crossing
This is one of the basic but most important road safety rules that children must learn about and follow from a young age. The best place to do this exercise is your school’s parking lot, where you have a crosswalk and minimal traffic during school hours. Take your students to the parking lot with an assistant teacher to keep an eye on the kids. Talk about the “Stop, Look, and Listen” rule before crossing a road.
Demonstrate how kids can safely get to the other side of a road by stopping at the curb before crossing, seeing on both sides (left and right) for vehicles, listening to sounds such as vehicle noises, horns, etc., and going only when the road is all clear. Now have the kids practice crossing the street with this safety rule in mind. To make it more interesting, you can have car and bus cut-outs and let a few kids hold them and pretend to be vehicles. They can go up and down the street while others practice safe road crossing.
You can also take this opportunity to teach kids how to follow directions properly by incorporating some of our games that teach following directions to kids. Knowing how to follow directions can help kids ace crossing a road safely.
2. Traffic Lights!
Another aspect of road safety is the knowledge of traffic lights. Young kids do observe those bright, flashy lights on the streets, aka traffic signals, as they travel with their parents and caregivers. While parents do talk about them with the kids, a fun activity can further reinforce the importance and understanding of traffic lights.
Begin by explaining why there is a need for traffic lights and what the red, yellow, and green lights mean. When you feel kids have imbibed the concept, test their understanding by giving each child a blank traffic signal printout. Now ask them to color the lights with their respective colors. Check for the choice of color used and its placement. Kindergarten kids can even write “Stop, Wait, Go” words to complete the traffic signal.
If you want to extend this activity further, use props mimicking different traffic lights. Divide the class into groups and ask them to walk around the aisle. Three students can hold and flash the props one at a time. The group must see the lights and move accordingly, keeping the rules in mind.
3. Helmets and Seatbelts
One can always uphold the benefits of wearing helmets and seatbelts. Many kids say no to wearing safety gear in the car or when riding their bikes and skateboards. It is likely because they don’t understand the gravity of problems arising from poor approaches to safety. This activity aims to teach kids why wearing a seatbelt or a helmet is vital.
Here’s what you’ll need –
- A car with an appropriate car seat (parked in a safe spot in your school’s parking lot)
- A helmet, along with arm and knee pads
- A scooter (as it is easy to ride)
Bring the kids out. Discuss the importance of wearing a seatbelt/ safety harness and a helmet when traveling in a car or moving around in the neighborhood on a bike, scooter, or skateboard.
Show them how they can wear these on their own. Now give each one a chance to sit in the car seat and help them wear the safety harness or the seatbelt (depending on your state’s car seat laws). Tell them why it is essential to sit in place with their harness/ seatbelt on when the vehicle is moving. Similarly, have them wear a helmet and other safety gear and try their hands on the scooter. Ask them if they feel safe when they are wearing the safety gear viz a viz when they are not. Have them take a safety pledge and give them a “Safe Rider” badge to encourage them to use seatbelts and helmets.
4. Road Safety Role Play
Another great idea to encourage road safety in little children is role-playing. It is a great way to engage students and motivate them to practice what they preach. As role-playing allows kids to enact real-life situations, they learn how to react sensibly when they find themselves in a similar situation.
You can celebrate a road safety week in school. During this week, you can have your students practice role-playing. Prepare a few scripts related to road safety for children. Divide the class into groups depending on the number of kids required in a script. Talk to them about the topic they will present and help them practice their dialogues and acting.
On the last day, bring all students together and conduct a presentation wherein all groups will perform their plays in front of everyone. This will allow kids to learn through critical observation of their peers. They will be more conscious of their surroundings and learn how they can remain safe in those surroundings.
Some ideas for role-playing which you can include are –
- Importance of holding a grown-up’s hand when crossing a road.
- Being attentive and watchful when trying to get back the ball that rolled onto the street.
- Why must we always use a sidewalk to walk down the street? And so on.
5. Road Safety Dos and Don’ts
While it is necessary to tell kids what they should do and follow in regard to being safe on the road, it also helps if we give equal emphasis on the don’ts of road safety. This helps alert kids about things they should avoid doing to stay safe. In order to achieve this, have a session specifically on the don’ts related to road safety. Show kids a presentation, with each slide showcasing a picture related to the topic. Show the images one by one and tell them how following these don’ts can keep them safe. A few examples to add to the list are –
- Don’t run on the street.
- Don’t play on the sidewalk.
- Don’t try to release yourself off the seat belt in a moving vehicle.
- Don’t cross the road if the signal reflects a ‘red’ crossing man.
- Don’t peek out the window of a moving vehicle.
After you finish the presentation, give each student a worksheet having images of dos and don’ts of road safety. Ask kids to color all the pictures ‘red,’ which they think reflects things they must not do to ensure road safety.
6. Traffic Signs Craft
Take a day out to make crafts on various traffic signs. Although there are numerous traffic signs, little kids can start learning about the common signs that appear on the roads. Signs such as Slow down, Stop, Children at play, Work in progress, Keep right, One way, etc., are good, to begin with. Keep craft supplies ready for this activity. Colored paper, markers, popsicle sticks, and a few other readily available items are all you need to get this activity going.
Kindergarten students can draw signs on their own by looking at the image. For preschoolers, it would be better to arrange printed signs that students can cut and paste to make their own traffic signs.
7. Road Safety Awareness Rally
This is a super fun activity that little kids will enjoy. Bring pre-k and kindergarten students together and conduct a rally around the school. Put together banners on road safety, make students wear reflective clothing and other safety gear, and let them hold a few traffic signs. Kids can also prepare songs on road safety which they can sing as the rally moves from one corner of the school to the other. Invite parents to be the audience to cheer their kids for participating in the rally. In the end, remember to appreciate kids for their efforts. Positive comments from teachers and parents will further motivate kids to practice road safety rules.
In conclusion
Activities are a fun and effective way to teach little kids important skills and concepts related to road safety. But teachers and parents must ensure the activities they are doing with kids should be age-appropriate, fun, and conducted under adult supervision. By engaging children in hands-on and interactive learning experiences, we can help them develop good habits and a better understanding of road safety. It will ultimately help in keeping them safe when they are on the road. We hope you have gathered a bunch of ideas that you can try out with kids at home or school.
I am Priyanka Sonkushre, a writer and blogger. I am the person behind “One Loving Mama,” a mom blog. Equipped with a Bachelor’s degree along with an MBA, my healthcare background helps me deeply understand learning difficulties. I know how challenging it can be for parents to find the right resources to help their children excel in life. So, here I am to blend my healthcare expertise with my parenting experience to create valuable and helpful resources for parents and teachers supporting children with learning differences. If you wish, you can follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn.