Celebrating Safe Kids Week

Safe Kids Larimer County Celebrates Safe Kids Week with Resources to Help Parents Protect Kids from Preventable Injuries

Safety Advocates Unite to Remind Busy Parents to Take Time to Focus on Simple Steps to Keep Kids Safe at Home, at Play, and on the Way

In honor of Safe Kids Week (May 8-14), Safe Kids Larimer County, based at UCHealth, is providing tips, resources, and activities to educate parents and caregivers about simple ways to keep their kids safe from a range of preventable injuries.

At a time when parents are focused on many priorities at once, Safe Kids Week is a national celebration dedicated to celebrating kids, raising awareness about child injury prevention, and inspiring parents to take the time to focus on proven and practical tips to keep their kids safe.

Preventable injuries are the number one cause of death of children in the United States, and millions more are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime.

“Safe Kids Week is a wonderful opportunity for Larimer County residents to celebrate kids, learn about how to keep them safe and, ultimately, save lives,” says Alison Weston, Safe Kids Coordinator. “This is a week where we can all take just a little bit of time out of our busy schedules to focus on a few simple steps that can make a big difference in the safety of our children.”

To support parents and caregivers, Safe Kids Larimer County is offering helpful resources, including:

Parent’s Guide to Child Safety – a comprehensive 24-page guide with expert advice and easy-to-follow tips to help families reduce risks, prevent injuries and keep kids safe at home, at play and on the road. Available in English and Spanish.

Family Safety Activity Book – a fun booklet that includes a maze, word search, coloring pages, puzzles, and other exciting games to keep you and your kids ages 4-8 entertained and safe. Available in English and Spanish.

Home Safety Graphic – an interactive graphic that takes parents room by room to show useful tips on how to keep their kids safe no matter where they live.

Safe Routes to School Encourages Biking for Brain Health

On March 21, 2018March 21, 2018 By Safe Kids Larimer CountyIn bicycle safety1 Comment

Spring has sprung! That means more outdoor activities and kids walking and biking to school! The Through the 5 E’s (evaluation, encouragement, education, enforcement, and engineering), Safe Routes to School programs throughout the nation strive to encourage walking and biking to school. Not only does this reduce traffic in busy zones, it is also a healthy habit!

Thompson School District’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program works with local agencies, organizations, cities, and developers to try to make walking and biking to school a safe, fun and healthy activity for students in elementary and middle school. Activity before and after school does not only improve physical health, it also gives a boost to a student’s brain power. As little as 7 minutes of physical activity before a test has proven to boost test scores by up to 17%! Regular physical activity also helps with a child’s memory and focus.

Because of this, TSD’s Safe Routes to School program works with Safe Kids Larimer County to make sure students are aware of the importance of protecting their most valuable asset – the brain! The partnership with Safe Kids’ Strap and Snap program to teach 3^rd graders helmet safety goes hand in hand with the Safe Routes goals. A main focus of SRTS bike safety training is teaching kids to always wear a helmet when on a bike, scooter, skateboard or skates!

May is Bike to School Month and with the warmer spring weather it’s a great time to encourage students to get out and ride! An easy way to get kids riding is to start a bike train to and from school – a group of neighborhood riders of all ages that can meet up at different locations in their neighborhood to ride together.

It’s like a carpool—without the car—with the added benefits of having safety in numbers (a bigger group of bicyclists can be easily seen by traffic), added exercise, and visits with friends and neighbors.

To start your own neighborhood bike train:

Invite families who live nearby to bike (or walk) together. (or start a sign-up sheet at your school)
Create a route and take a test ride.
Decide how often the group will ride together.
Be sure everyone knows how to be safe on their bike – review hand signals, look for traffic when crossing a street, and ALWAYS wear helmets.
Have fun! (create theme days, decorate your helmets, enjoy nature!)
Click here for more tips on creating your own bike train.

Written by Mechelle Martz-Mayfield, Thompson School District Safe Routes to School Coordinator

Larimer County Sheriff’s Kids Christmas Party – Santa’s Little Helpers

On November 30, 2017November 30, 2017 By Safe Kids Larimer CountyIn Partner StoryLeave a comment

This December will be the 23rd annual Larimer County Sheriff’s Kids Christmas party! The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office provides a magical Christmas party for over 120 children kindergarten through 5th grade from mobile home communities in unincorporated Larimer County. Santa and Mrs. Claus talks to each child and gives them a Christmas gift just for them! The kids get to see Mr. Incredible – with all his magic tricks. They play games and get prizes, visit with McGruff, the crime prevention dog, and enjoy snacks before they find out who won a bike!

Throughout the year, donated bikes are refurbished for the kids bike raffle at the Christmas party. Each child has a raffle ticket with their unique number on it. When arriving at the party, the child can place his/her raffle ticket in the bike box they would like to have. We have between 30 and 50 bikes each year and Safe Kids Larimer County donates and fits helmets for every bike and winner! When the child’s name and number are called as a winner – their faces light up and you know it’s going to be a great Christmas! It is so nice to be able to not only provide a bicycle to someone who may not have one, but also a helmet to keep them safe!

~Barbara Bennett, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office