A BIKE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE
Okay, that new bike is great, and shiny and fun……
But don’t forget about safety.
How to ride it safely, where to ride and with whom…….riding with a partner is always a good idea!
Watch for cars, pedestrians, download rules of the road for bikes and discuss.
You cannot take a child, attached gumby- style, to a bike and screaming for all they are worth, put them in a car….there is a story in my book about this also..
see lovely illustration from my book, above.
In my book page 81, I tell the story of The girl who was too much trouble!
It is Mickenzie’s Story,
She and her brother were coming home from piano lessons, riding their bikes down a dirt road.
They stopped to look at the grazing horses. They moved their bikes over for the oncoming truck, but it pulled over and stopped. The man chatted with the kids and talked about the horses. Soon he asked for their help, looking for his dog, told the kids he knew their parents and was sure it would be ok with them…if he could just put their bikes in his truck…….maybe he had a picture of the dog in his truck he said as he began opening the doors…..
Mickenzie’s had heard about tricks, at home and at a school assembly, watching, listening, and this felt bad,
( in my book I get children to tune into their natural intuition when it comes to behavior, if it feels bad, it is bad, get away)
Mickenzie’s knew there were people at the end of the lane and instructed her brother, loudly, to ride, go to them, get help, ….as the man abruptly picked her up, and tried to force her into his truck. With her foot she slammed the first door shut….he successfully pushed her through another door, started the truck, and attempted to drive. Mickenzie’s was having none of this, hitting/kicking at him she told him in no uncertain terms he was NOT taking her anywhere. Unable to drive, the man stopped the truck,
Told her to get out she would have to climb over him……(ugh!) she does this, jumps down and runs in the same direction her brother had gone, and sees him returning with the friends down the lane.
Victory. The man in this attempted abduction, was caught less than 24 hrs later, identified, and this brave girl, later the following month, sat on the witness stand, told her story, and put him behind bars.
She’s a wonderful young woman, a college student now……her parents wrote one of the forewords for my book…..she even takes time for Internet scrabble with me just to stay in touch😊
I use this story to talk about riding in pairs, about how you can use a bike to get away, about
And how to use the plan ( outlined in the book) to say no to any bad behavior, and to go, and tell their safe adults. That they have the power to save themselves if they ever need it.
It is a simple, easy to use plan that covers many situational safety problems as children grow.
Every child will run into their own problems..but they should each have a similar plan,
No, Go and Tell.
Read more about it in What Should You Do? For parents and teachers of children ages 5-13
http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61777-229-0
A BIKE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE
Teachsafety 
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