We owe it to the little ones

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 42, 7 April 1987, Page 4

We owe it to the little ones

New Zealand preschoolers could be among the safest in the world if a new child safety programme launched on April 1 is successful. The Safe Playing Programme is a positive way of promoting safe behaviour in young children by giving rewards and praise to preschoolers who play on the footpath or other safe areas instead of going on to the road. And research on Safe Playing shows that children who participate are six to twelve times safer as a result. The Executive Officer of the Safe Playing Trust, Gail Witney-Peters, said that children played on the road because it was an exciting place, but Safe Playing aims to make playing safe more fun than playing dangerously. "The usual story is that if your child goes onto the road you scold them or smack them." "But we know that doesn't work because a third of children who are knocked down by cars had been scolded and sometimes smacked for being on the road only moments earlier", said Gail. And often parents aren't aware of how often children go onto the road. Research shows that about half of young children go onto the road between two and ten times per hour, often so quickly that parents don't see them. Safe Playing is a programme which has been

funded by MOT/ACC and many private corporations. It has a number of simple components for parents and preschool staff to use with children. Road Traffic Instructors are involved in implementing the programme and evaluating its success. It is aimed at children aged between three and five and the trick is getting kids interested in the way ir which the storybooks are written. The books make the chiU the star of the story. Being able to identify with the

character makes them learn more quickly and absorb the safety messages. One in every one hundred children in New Zealand are struck by a car by the time they turn five years old. About half of these accidents happen within 100 metres of home, and often on quiet residential streets. The death rate here is three times Britain's and twice the United States. "All parents with preschoolers are encouraged to take part in this free programme which can change those statistics, and make

our preschoolers safer", says Gail. Safe Playing kits will be available free from all L..D. Nathan stores from April 6. Safe Playing is the result of eight years of research and development here and in the United States. It was started by Dr. Dennis Embry, an American child psychologist invited here by the MOT in 1984 to adapt the programme to New Zealand needs. After successful trials in the Bay of Plenty iri 1985, the Trust moved forward toward launching the programme nationally.