As a parent, you obviously want to protect your child(ren). It begins from their first day of Kindergarten and lasts well past their high school graduation.
Part of your role as a parent includes educating your child about the world, including how to be more safe. So prior to their first day of school, we recommend that you learn the following rules of bus stop safety so that you can then, in turn, pass on your education to your students.
- Parents and guardians should walk children to the bus stop and wait there with them until the school bus has arrived (preferably after the school bus has pulled away). Model good behavior by walking on the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, you should walk on the side of oncoming traffic.
- Always arrive at the bus stop about five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
- Even if students are running late, they should never run to the bus. Teach them to walk safely instead of running like banchees. (Then you likely need to teach them what a banchee is.) Most likely, the school bus driver will see them, so there’s no need to rush and risk getting hurt.
- In the event that there’s some waiting time at the bus stop, roughhousing is discouraged. There’s no need to pick fights before 8:00 a.m. (Or ever, for that matter.)
- While at the bus stop, students should wait approximately 10 feet (or 5 giant steps) away from the road.
- Wait for the bus to come to a full and complete stop before boarding or exiting.
- Watch for red flashing lights and the stop sign to be extended, and cross only when all traffic has stopped. Look left, right, and left again before crossing the street (if necessary).
- Teach your children to take a seat right away on the bus, to remain seated facing forward, and to always listen to the bus driver.
- Encourage your children to never speak to strangers (or especially get in the car with one) at the bus stop.
- Once off the bus, children are expected to always go straight home and tell parents if a stranger tries to talk to you or pick you up.