On Saturday morning, Safe Kids Worldwide, an organization dedicated to the prevention of childhood injuries, held a Cub Scout automotive patch program at Wallace Chevrolet.
The organization teamed up with the dealership to teach parents and children about safety in and around vehicles. Thirteen scouts and a total of about 45 people attended the event.
Tammie Henson, the Safe Kids coordinator, said although most of the Cub Scouts attended the event to earn a patch, many of the parents ended up learning new things, too.
“Parents went through the stations,” Henson said. “I think in some cases, the parents learned more than the children.”
One of the stations, called “Spot the Tot,” was intended to teach parents where their blind spots are and how easy it is to hit a child.
“One young lady said it was 18 feet before she could see a child sitting behind her SUV,” Henson said. “That is one thing we are really trying to prevent. By educating parents on the blind spots, we are teaching them to walk around the vehicle and make sure there is no children that could be hit.”
Another station was centered around never leaving children in the car. Henson said it doesn’t take much to heat up glass on a hot day. There has already been two deaths related to children being left alone in the car this year.
A third station was called “trunk entrapment” and was intended to teach kids how to exit the trunk if they ever get locked in. Henson said a lot of cars have glow-in-the-dark handles in the trunk that can open the trunk door from the inside. Henson said most parents don’t know about the latch because they don’t spend time locked in their trunk, but she said it was important for kids to know how to get out.
Other stations included a station about letting kids know it’s OK to talk to the OnStar operator and a station dedicated to seatbelt safety.
Henson said Safe Kids is willing to work with any organization or group in McPherson County and the best way for interested people to get in touch with them is by calling Memorial Hospital.
“You always know you can do better,” said Henson. “We are here to teach you how to be better and safer in your vehicle.”
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On Saturday morning, Safe Kids Worldwide, an organization dedicated to the prevention of childhood injuries, held a Cub Scout automotive patch program at Wallace Chevrolet.
The organization teamed up with the dealership to teach parents and children about safety in and around vehicles. Thirteen scouts and a total of about 45 people attended the event.
Tammie Henson, the Safe Kids coordinator, said although most of the Cub Scouts attended the event to earn a patch, many of the parents ended up learning new things, too.
“Parents went through the stations,” Henson said. “I think in some cases, the parents learned more than the children.”
One of the stations, called “Spot the Tot,” was intended to teach parents where their blind spots are and how easy it is to hit a child.
“One young lady said it was 18 feet before she could see a child sitting behind her SUV,” Henson said. “That is one thing we are really trying to prevent. By educating parents on the blind spots, we are teaching them to walk around the vehicle and make sure there is no children that could be hit.”
Another station was centered around never leaving children in the car. Henson said it doesn’t take much to heat up glass on a hot day. There has already been two deaths related to children being left alone in the car this year.
A third station was called “trunk entrapment” and was intended to teach kids how to exit the trunk if they ever get locked in. Henson said a lot of cars have glow-in-the-dark handles in the trunk that can open the trunk door from the inside. Henson said most parents don’t know about the latch because they don’t spend time locked in their trunk, but she said it was important for kids to know how to get out.
Other stations included a station about letting kids know it’s OK to talk to the OnStar operator and a station dedicated to seatbelt safety.
Henson said Safe Kids is willing to work with any organization or group in McPherson County and the best way for interested people to get in touch with them is by calling Memorial Hospital.
“You always know you can do better,” said Henson. “We are here to teach you how to be better and safer in your vehicle.”
