The Ottawa Safety Council offers , “WalkAlone, a program that helps prepare your children to walk to and from school that focuses on everything they need to know to be safe pedestrians. WalkAlone is designed to help parents and educators determine if a child is ready to start walking some places on their own and prepare them to do so safely by covering concepts such as readiness, judgement and decision making, road safety rules, people smarts, safe zones, emergency preparedness, and safe route planning.
WalkAlone covers essential confidence boosters like:
- Road Safety Rules
- Decision-making scenarios
- Dealing with strangers and staying safe in public areas
- Safe route planning
- Dealing with emergencies
The package challenges kids to think about why they want to walk alone, how they are going to make it happen safely, and what they’ll do if anything does not go according to plan. It wraps up with a readiness checklist, ensuring that all their bases are covered. They’ll feel prepared – and you’ll feel much more confident about them heading out on their own. To learn more about the WalkAlone program visit the OSC website.
