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Commentary Walking It's easy to forget just what a complex set of skills and judgements we need to cross roads safely. Adults constantly check and recheck the safety of the road environment. All of this goes on inside our minds... invisible to children unless we talk to them about all the things we do to keep safe. Even when we talk with children, they may use the same words as we do but their understanding of them may be very different. COMMENTARY WALKING is when adults talk with their children about: • what they're doing when crossing the road • why they've stopped at the kerb/crossing • what they're looking for when crossing the road • what sounds they are listening for when crossing the road • when it is safe to cross • why they have to keep checking until they are safely off the road on the other side Key Messages For Children Pedestrian: • Always hold a grown-up's hand • When a grown-up's hand is not available, hold a pram, bag or clothes • Always cross the road with a grown-up Passenger: • Always buckle up your seatbelt • Always leave your seatbelt buckled up in the car • Always get in and out of the 'safety door'. Safe Play: • Ask a grown-up where it is safe for you to play • Always wear your helmet when riding your bike or wheeled toy Young children always need an adult's help to keep them safe because they: • Are small and difficult for drivers to see in the busy traffic environment • Don't always do what we expect them to do • Sometimes have a short attention span • May not make full use of their side vision • Can be easily distracted • May not always do the same thing in the same situation • Will focus on what is important to them • Are not able to cope with sudden changes in the road traffic environment • Take in different information from the road traffic environment than adults • Have difficulty judging speed and distance • Have difficulty in identifying where sounds are coming from • Are not able to understand what 'safety' means, and what will keep them 'safe' • Before you go, retell stories about earlier journeys, talk together about the new journey, read books with your children about families who are making a journey • Talk with your children about ways to keep safe when travelling • Think up activities that your children can do with you such as • Making a road safety book about your family using photos of your children travelling safely – holding your hand, buckled up in their child restraint, using the safety door (rear kerbside door of the car) • Singing in the car, playing simple games such as ‘I-Spy’ using colours, talking about your journey and where you are going Road Safety Songs • Listen to road safety songs adapted from popular children’s songs – why don’t you and your children adapt your favourite songs? (We’d love to hear them too!) (www.bryanandbobby.com.nz) Litter Littering information from www.environment.tas.gov.au Litter is any material that has been left where it is not meant to be. Frequently littered items include: • cigarette butts • bus tickets • drink containers • apple cores • take-away food packaging • material falling from an unsecured load • leaves swept into the gutter Litter is usually thought of as small items, but it also includes abandoned vehicles, household rubbish dumped on the roadside or in the bush, and furniture such as mattresses left on the street by people moving house. It even includes fish offal left behind by recreational fishers after scaling and gutting fish. Litter Matters - But Why? Litter is the most visible sign of pollution. It is unsightly and can cause harm to people, wildlife and our waterways. It encourages pest animals as well as the spread of germs and disease. Litter is wasteful and costly to clean up. Litter also affects the way tourists view our state. Litter - it Lasts and it Travels Litter takes many forms and has a range of effects. Many of the materials we casually throw away don't break down - they last in the environment for a long time. People may think that paper decomposes easily, but a parking ticket, for example, can take up to a month to decompose, depending on where it is. So, imagine the length of time it takes for a plastic soft drink bottle or a plastic industrial oil container to break down! Plastic litter can impact for hundreds (200-500) of years. Plastic is also light weight, easily windblown and it floats in water, often travelling long distances via the stormwater system to impact on our beaches. The Ocean Conservancy estimates that 59% of all marine litter is from land-based shoreline and recreational activities. The following information shows the time it takes for some common litter items to decompose in the environment. Litter Item: Time to break down: Glass bottles 1 million years Monofilament fishing line 600 years Plastic beverage bottles 450 years Disposable nappies 450 years Aluminium can 80 - 200 years Foam plastic cup 50 years Plastic bag 10 - 20 years Cigarette filter 1 - 5 years Source: US National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, Florida Litter and Stormwater Quality Litter often clogs stormwater drains, affecting water quality and impacting on those plants and animals that live in and along the waterways and coast. Certain types of litter, such as food scraps and other organic items, can contribute to algal blooms that deplete oxygen levels in the water. Litter can also degrade water quality if there are harmful chemicals associated with it. For example, cigarette butts contain many toxic chemicals that leach into the water. Dangerous Litter Some litter can be dangerous. Broken glass, fishhooks and bits of metal can cause serious injuries to people. Discarded lit cigarettes can cause bushfires. Litter Costs Litter prevention, education, collection and enforcement costs the community millions of dollars every year. For example, Australian local and State Governments spend over $200 million a year just picking up litter! Litter has many other costs that are significant but hard to quantify in dollar terms. Examples include the social and environmental costs of degraded environments, injured wildlife, and impacts on liveability such as reduced amenity of public space, and community safety. For more Information visit: www.tams.act.gov.au/live.environment www.dare.com www.environment.tas.gov.au www.bryanandbobby.com.nz
No matter how old we are we all have the right to feel safe no matter where we are. To help us feel safe we need to be aware of what is happening around us because young Australians are a significant group at risk of going missing. Out of the 35,000 missing persons' reports received each year, young people under the age of 18 account for 20,000. By reviewing the safety messages below on a regular basis with your children you can help to keep them thinking ‘safety’ when they go out When you go out, some of the things you need to tell someone are,
And importantly let some one know if you change your plans. If you are going to a public venue always try to go with an adult or with a group of friends.. Children should be encouraged not to walk to or from school alone. Walk in groups – don’t walk alone. When you are out with your children, remind them to stay close by and explain the risks of running off or hiding from parents/carers. While you are out you may be approached by someone or a group of people you may or may not know. If that person/group makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, don’t stay near them, move to a place where you can feel safe and find or contact someone you trust and tell them why you feel that way and that you need help. If you feel you are in danger ring 000 immediately Establish a network of people that your child trusts and feels safe to approach for help, i.e. family, teacher, friends "Safety House" etc, and educate them to seek assistance from agencies such as Fire, Ambulance and Police when they are feeling unsafe. Develop a relationship with your child that promotes discussion regarding issues and events that concern them. Let your child know that the most important thing is for them to tell you when something has happened that concerns them. That they will not get into trouble for telling you anything which concerns them even if it resulted from them not following rules. A good tip that came from one parent was to buy a necklace with a disc on it and engrave both parents’ mobile phone numbers on the disc. If the child gets lost and is unable to remember the numbers, they only have to show whoever is helping them the disc and they can contact the parents. |