Do you have a Safety Door in your car?

Getting into and out of cars safely can sometimes be a problem with little ones. This is where a safety door comes in handy – a safety door is one that is closest to the footpath and is the safest door to exit out of, which is normally the rear passenger door on the left hand side.

Creating a safety door in the cars your children regularly travel is an effective way to encourage road safety. Use a smiley sticker or similar on the window of the safety door – if your child is old enough, ask them to show which is the safety door before placing the sticker on. This will help set up the habit of using this door in all cars.

• Grab a box and make it into a car with doors, then together decide which door their toy would use to safely get into and out of the car. Talk about why this door is the safety door.
• Encourage the children to put stickers on the safety door on the toy cars and trucks at playgroup and home.

There may be occasions when it is not possible to use the safety door. Especially if there is no footpath or something blocking the safety door. Encourage problem solving this with some discussion with your children.

A great activity to do at playgroup or at home could be to recreate a “car” indoors with chairs and cloth seat belts and imagine with the children you are driving around and have just stopped and it’s time to get out. Remember we have to stay safe.

• What if there is something on the seat (shopping, baby bags etc) blocking the safety door? How would you get out? (suggestions: waiting for the items to be moved or finding an alternative exit to get them out kerbside)
• What if there is no footpath (like in a car park at the shops or park), what might you do? (suggestions: hold the door handle, wait for an adult to come and guide you to safety)

Do you do any of these activities or have created any of your own? Let us know! #playgroupwa