Parents, are you sure your child’s school bus driver is paying attention?
This month is Back to School Safety Month - let's work together as a community to make sure our children stay safe this year.
by Michael Pines
Accident & Injury Prevention Expert
In honor of Back to School Safety Month, parents should ask themselves: how safe and well-trained is your child’s school bus driver?
Not long ago, Rancho Penasquitos reported that a bus had gone awry on its neighborhood streets, plowing through parked cars, and eventually crashing into a neighborhood home. This time, a story out of Miami reiterates the need for parents to take action nationwide in an effort to curb accidents.
According to reports, a 6-year-old autistic kindergartner was left in the confines of a hot school bus after supervisors forgot to escort the boy off of the vehicle. The child, Aden Bramwell, remained there for the length of the day and was immediately traumatized after the event, his mother said.
“The excuses don’t fly. Your job is to check,” said Sophia Bramwell, the boy’s mother, in her interview with NBC Miami. As a parent, you don’t think it can happen to you. It can happen to anybody. It did to us.”
Unfortunately, this is not the first event of its kind: just this year, reports have surfaced of children who were left behind in school buses across states including New York, Washington, Indiana, New Jersey, and more. Parents in every state are now more concerned than ever, and for good reason – with so many accidental abandonments, it’s no surprise parents are alarmed.
Before school starts, take action
Parents and guardians are urged to take action and contact their school officials. Ultimately, while schools aim to provide a safe environment for children, it’s often the case in which details get forgotten.
In an effort to spur safety compliance across the board, and put an end to child accidents, ask your child’s principal the following questions:
Are school bus drivers trained, regulated, and monitored?
Is playground equipment checked each and every school year?
Do all classrooms have safety rules in place?
Are students trained on emergency procedures?
Are all classrooms secured safely?
For the sake of Back to School Safety Month, I urge all parents to proactively work with their child’s schools to ensure safety is the top priorit. For more safety tips, follow me on Twitter and join us on Facebook for daily accident prevention advice.
Related posts:
- Parents commiserate on first day of school
- Parent Participation Pre-school helps educate parents about early childhood development
- Guest View: Time for parents to pay attention
- Parents get the lowdown at back to school night
- Hospital offers summer safety tips for parents
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Posted by Social Media Staff
on Aug 22, 2011. Filed under Columns, Michael Pines, Sponsored Columns.
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