By Rachele Alpine Mielke
The winter months have crept up on us and the bitter cold of another Northeast Ohio winter soon will be settling in. Local moms give tips on how to keep children warm and safe at the bus stop.
Liz (Westlake)
“Our bus picks up the kids at the driveway, but our neighbors have to drive over. Usually, they either wait in my garage or they will get into the neighbor’s car during the brutal winter months until the bus comes. The school my kids attend is big on kids going outside in all weather so going to school, they are dressed appropriately to play outside whatever the weather. I always tell the kids that you can take it off if you don’t need it, but if you don’t have something, there’s nothing you can do.”
Lisa (Perry)
“I always have my daughter wear layers on the extremely cold days, like an under shirt, regular shirt and coat. If it is below zero, she may even wear snow pants over her actual pants and then her socks with boots. Many kids wore snow pants last year when they were going to school.”
Maureen (North Olmsted)
“My boys have outside recess until 10 degrees, so they just wear what they would for recess. I shovel the driveway as I’m waiting with them. That keeps me warm.”
Rita (Mentor)
“[I bought] ski masks for waiting at the bus stop during the polar vortex. I never buy white or light colors in hats, gloves and scarves — there’s nothing dirtier than the floor of a school bus in the winter and gloves, hats and scarves will end up on the bus floor at some point. Also, I make kids set out gloves and hats the night before, like their uniforms. I noticed that just looking for that stuff added time to our morning routine. Such items are so easily lost or misplaced.”
Sarah (Rocky River)
“I’d like to say that I give the kids a warm potato in the morning to keep their hands warm as my grandpa said he had, but mostly it’s about timing the bus and dressing appropriately. By the time winter rolls around, you have a good idea as to when the bus should arrive, so I wait to send the kids out until just before the bus pulls up. My kids wear their winter gear including all the fun accessories of scarves, hats and gloves. In fact, the more fun they are, the more apt my kids are to wear them. So whenever possible, I try to inject fun into their weather wardrobe.”
Gretchen (Rocky River)
“Investing in the right winter gear is key for keeping little kids warm while waiting for the bus, especially a good pair of winter boots. Aside from proper winter clothing, keep the kids moving. Most kids can’t sit still, so take advantage of this in cold weather and challenge them to see how many jumping jacks they can do in a minute or to make tracks in the snow and then try to come back backwards. Kids love the challenge and generate important body heat to keep them warm.”
Jeni (Northeast Ohio)
“There are a couple things I would do. If it was super cold we would drive to the bus stop and wait until I saw the bus coming until we would get out. Sometimes it was hard to keep my son in the car because his friends were at the bus stop. I would have an extra big coat or a blanket on and when he would get cold I would give him a big hug in the coat. The one thing I would say is that I would tell him the clothes he was wearing was all he had for the day so if he got wet playing in the snow before school, there was no going home to change.”
Bus Stop Safety
The Ohio Department of Education offers guidelines for going to and from school. Students should:
- Be early to the bus stop
- Be careful at the bus stop
- Stay out of the street
- Never talk to strangers
- Dress in bright-colored clothes so the drivers can see them at all times
- Wait in a straight line
- Go straight home and tell an adult if the bus doesn’t come
- Make sure the bus is stopped and door is open before they approach the bus
- Watch the driver before entering the bus
- Wait for hand signal from driver before walking to the bus
- Use handrails when getting on the bus
- If they drop something under the bus, they should not pick it up; instead, they should tell the driver or another adult
- Students should not play around at the bus stop; someone could get hurt
- Always walk in front of the bus and never walk behind it
For more information, visit education.ohio.gov. Also look for “Safe Days with Oliver Owl,” a school bus safety activity book for students in kindergarten through third grade.
Bus Duty
If you have little ones at home, consider sharing bus stop duty with other parents in your neighborhood. Take turns waiting outside for the bus with each other’s children, so you’re not going outside every single day.
Plan Ahead for Your Morning
If you’re not an early bird, waking up in the morning can be hard. Waking up in the morning and getting kids off to school can feel impossible sometimes, even with the help of coffee.
Getting your children to and from school doesn’t have to feel like a chore. With a little bit of planning, your day can start feeling as if you got up on the right side of the bed instead of the wrong side.
Think about what you can do ahead of time. While it always helps to lay out clothes the night before, consider what else could you do. Make packing lunches a part of the after-dinner cleanup. If your children are old enough, have them pack their own. Or, ask them to set the table for breakfast. This includes everything they would need to eat breakfast and any non-perishable food (if they eat cereal, have them put the box out; if they eat toast, have them put the loaf of bread near their plate). This not only gives you a little bit of extra time in the morning, but your children are given the chance to make their breakfast choices, so there are no fights about what to eat in the morning.
They also can pack their book bags the night before; if you drive them, have them put their bags in the car. It’s one less thing you’ll have to grab when you’re hurrying out the door.
Hint: Take a week to note what goes on before school and then see which of those things you can do the night before.
