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Walking with children

Man walking with two young children holding hands. Footsteps. Child pedestrian safety. A practical guide

You will know the importance of keeping your child safe when near traffic. This short leaflet Footsteps guide (pdf format, 3MB), will give you some simple activities to use that will help you achieve this, whilst giving you some interesting things to do and talk about with your children.

As adults we know how to be safe pedestrians. But young children won’t have learnt those skills yet.

By teaching your child road awareness, you are enabling your child to make their own choices and decisions with your help when walking and crossing the road.

  • Ask questions rather than tell your child what to do.
  • Involve your child in the decision making and explain why you are doing things.
  • And remember your child will copy your behaviour so be consistent, even if you are in a hurry.
  • Never do anything you wouldn't want your child to do when they are on their own.

Start Footsteps as soon as you feel your child is ready, the sooner the better. This is a learning journey and it may take a long time before your child can cope on their own.

Please don’t expect quick results, take it at their pace. As your child shows you they can cope, move on to more challenging tasks. You know your child best, so you will know when they are ready to go out without you.

Download our Footsteps guide (pdf. 3MB) and start your child’s road awareness journey.