There are many occasions throughout the year where children in school will receive gifts e.g. Birthday's, Diwali, Eid, and Christmas.

Think about some of the presents children might receive, like bikes, scooters, roller blades, mobile phones and/or music players. How can children ensure they are safe when using their new toys?

• If children receive bikes, scooters or roller blades, what can they wear to keep themselves safer when out and about?
• What if children have received mobile phones and/or music players for Christmas, could these cause a distraction when out near the roads?

Safety Equipment

It is always important to know how to keep safe when out and about with our new gifts. There is a lot of safety equipment and clothing available to help us to keep safer when we are out and about.

A Helmet

A helmet is designed to protect your head should you have an accident. Therefore it is important that a helmet fits properly and is replaced after having an accident as the structure might have been damaged.
There are different styles of helmet to suit the activity you are participating in. For example, there is a different style of helmet for people that BMX bikes compared to mountain bikes.
More information can be found under Safer Cycling.

Lights

If you are going to be using your bike in the dark you will need to make sure you have got clean and working lights on both the front and back. White lights on the front and red lights on the rear.
Having lights will help road users and pedestrians see you if you approach them and help you avoid being in an accident.



High Visibility and Reflectors

Reflectors and high visibility items are great to help you be seen when it is a grey dull day and when it goes dark.

See Be Bright Be Seen for more ideas.


Knee and Elbow Pads

Knee and elbow pads help protect you from getting cut or grazed if you have a fall. They are particularly useful when you are skating, rollerblading or skateboarding.

The pads are generally made of a flexible shaped material that curve round your arms and legs and have a hard dome section in the centre to protect your joints.

They are easy to wear and remove as they use velcro straps. Wear them over your clothes and they will protect your clothes too.

Apart from the safety accessories you can encourage the children to use their new toys in a safer place like their back garden or the park rather than by the roadside. If you were to fall off your bike at the side of the road you might fall into the path of a car coming towards you. If you are playing on the pavement you need to also consider the safety of the pedestrians as well as yourselves.

Look at the April topic - Safer Places to Play - in advance or additional ideas.

How about the May topic - Safer Cycling - do they know what a "M" check is?

Distractions

"A thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else"

At times of celebration like Christmas, Eid and Divali there are usually lots of colourful twinkling lights and decorations around you. Both drivers and you as pedestrians can be distracted by all the flashing lights so take extra care.

You may also be lucky enough to get something like a mobile phone, headphones, iPad or a portable games device, which can all be a huge distraction. So remember to use these gifts sensibly and safely and not be distracted when crossing the road.

Can you find all 10 distractions in this BRAKE game?

Travelling

During the holiday periods many people visit their families and friends which may mean travelling long distances in poor weather conditions. If you're a passenger in a car remember that the driver needs to concentrate and you can help by not distracting them.

As a pedestrian there may be more cars parked near your homes visiting you or your neighbours. Try to cross the road where it is clear and you can see in all directions. If it isn't possible to cross away from the parked cars take extra care to cross the road safely.

Look at the November topics - the Green Cross Code & Safer Places to Cross