Children’s health: How to keep kids safe as they walk, bike to school

Many parents wonder when their child is ready to walk or bike to school. Children usually aren't ready to start walking to school without an adult until about fifth grade, or around age 10. Younger children are more impulsive and less cautious around traffic, and they often don't fully understand other potential dangers they could come across.

If your younger children still want to walk to school, consider walking with them. By walking with your children to and from school, you can help them learn the neighborhood, teach them about traffic signs, street signs and directions, and model correct behaviors when crossing streets. It's also a great opportunity for some time to chat with your kids.

Keep in mind when walking with your young child to hold their hand while crossing the street, observe all traffic signs, and be sure they look both ways before crossing. By modeling safe pedestrian behavior, you can show your child how to be as safe as possible. You can also consider starting a walking school bus by inviting families in your neighborhood to walk children to school together as a group. Adults may take turns walking with the group, so make sure each child knows the adults in their walking group.

When it comes to older kids walking to school, each child is different. That's why it's important to consider their individual developmental and maturity level when deciding if it is safe for them to walk to school without an adult. Some children may not have the skills to focus on safe pedestrian behavior until they are 10 years or older.

For older students walking to school, encourage them to take a safe route with adult crossing guards, travel in pairs or groups, and to not use cellphones while crossing the street. Teach them to say “no” if offered a ride home by a stranger, and to yell and run if their “no” is not respected.

Bright colored backpacks or jackets can also be helpful, as research shows that the hours of 6 to 9 p.m. are the riskiest times of day for child pedestrians. Bike riding is also a great way to get to and from school when children are ready. Keep in mind that kids need to learn to be safe pedestrians before they can be safe bicyclists.

Once kids are ready to roll, some basic bicycle safety steps can help keep them safe. Practicing ahead of time before the first day of school can help kids feel more comfortable riding to and from school.

Making sure they know the rules of the road is another crucial step. Kids need to know how to ride on the right side of the road with the flow of traffic in bike lanes, if available; to stop at all intersections and before entering the street; to respect the same traffic signals cars do; and to use their hands to indicate turns.

Make sure your child wears a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride. Wearing a helmet can cut the risk of head injuries by about 85% and facial injuries by about 65% among bike riders. The helmet should be approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and fit correctly.

Many of the same rules for walking to school apply to biking. Children should only ride a bike when there is plenty of daylight, wear white or bright-colored clothing to increase visibility, and not be distracted by phones while riding.

As electric bikes become more popular, it’s important to understand that the same safety precautions apply whether the bike is traditional or electric. However, e-bikes do require different skills and extra training. Plus many states, and even some communities, have regulations on who can or cannot ride e-bikes.

The first step is to find out whether there are laws or rules about how old a person must be to operate e-bikes. Check the vehicle code in your state and regulations in your community. Confirm whether the rules apply to all classes of e-bikes, as some areas also have stricter laws for the faster (class 3) e-bikes. Keep in mind: The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that children ages 9-12 years should not operate any product that travels faster than 10 mph.

Walking and biking to school helps keep children and their communities happy and healthy. Parents and pediatricians can advocate for child pedestrian safety by supporting and encouraging community programs with resources offered through organizations such as Safe Routes to School. These include walkability checklists to score your community, for example, and national events such as Bike to School Day each spring and Walk to School Day in the fall.

• Children's health is a continuing series. This column was provided by Dr. Phyllis Agran of American Academy of Pediatrics. See more at www.healthychildren.org.