PREVENTING the trauma of being part of or seeing an accident involving a child is the reasoning behind a new campaign in Leeton shire.
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Leeton Shire Council is one of 61 councils participating in the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation's "hold my hand" initiative.
The campaign aims to encourage parents and carers to hold their child's hand when they are close to roadways.
As a result of its participation, residents may notice colourful signage being placed at daycare centres, Leeton Preschool and at various playgrounds across the shire.
Council's road safety officer Steph Puntoriero said it was important for both adults and children to have safety at the forefront of their minds at all times.
"Children can be very excitable and unpredictable," she said.
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"They are small, their brains aren't fully developed, so they are unable to make safe choices around roadways and traffic.
"These signs are a great reminder for parents and carers to hold a child's hand as they leave our playgrounds.
"We must hold their hands right up until age 10, and supervise them closely until they are 12."
The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation was established in memory of four-year-old Tom McLaughlin, who tragically passed away in a pedestrian road crash while on a Central Coast family vacation in 2014.
Foundation Founder and CEO Michelle McLaughlin was pleased Leeton shire had been erecting the signs around the many playgrounds and parks in the area.
"Many of our children's parks are near roadways and I commend the many councils who are now fencing their playgrounds and installing signage to keep children safe," she said.
"We now have 61 councils in four states of Australia working with us to spread our child pedestrian safety messages.
"We lost our precious son, Tom in the blink of an eye.
"We don't want this to happen to anyone else.
"The cost - emotional and financial - is just too high.
"That's why the 'hold my hand' message is so important."
Other Little Blue Dinosaur objectives:
- To advocate child road safety through community education, government campaigning and by implementing effective local and national road safety initiatives.
- To research and improve our understanding of the cognitive limitations and learning habits of young children in order to develop appropriate literature for effective road safety learning.
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