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According to Safe Kids Worldwide, unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19.

With summer activities well underway, and the beginning of the school year right around the corner, now is a great time to review these pedestrian safety tips with your children:

1. Teach kids at an early age to look left, right, and left again before crossing the street. Then remind them to continue looking until safely across.

2. Teach kids to put phones, headphones, and devices down when crossing the street. It is particularly important to reinforce this message with teenagers.

3. It’s always best to walk on sidewalks or paths and cross at street corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.

4. Children under 10 need to cross the street with an adult. Every child is different, but developmentally, most kids are unable to judge the speed and distance of oncoming cars until age 10.

5. Teach kids to make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street.

6. Encourage kids to be especially alert for cars that are turning or backing up.

7. Teach kids not to run or dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.

Trinity Health is proud to serve as the lead agency for Safe Kids Minot. To learn more, donate, or volunteer, call Amber Emerson, Safe Kids Minot Coordinator, at 701-857-7300.