My 5 Year Old Still Can't Cross the Street

Updated on February 11, 2008
T.P. asks from Saratoga Springs, UT
5 answers

My son just turned 5. He still refuses to look for cars when crossing the street or in a parking lot. He acts as if he's in la-la land & no matter how many times I've practiced with him, he doesn't seem to care. I've let him walk a little ahead of me to see if he would stop but he doesn't. What can I do?

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B.S.

answers from Colorado Springs on

wow, i have a 5yr old boy as well, and as he does 'look' to see if anything is coming, he doesn't 'think' to stop as well. I seriously think it is their age. I have resorted to 'ear grabbing', old fashioned i know. I have MADE him hold my hand the entire time, and I don't think he will get 'it' till he gets into school. Just today, he almost got hit by a car backing up. I can yell till i get a migraine, he just doesn't understand. I am almost 27, happily married for over 6yrs. lol.

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K.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I am the mother of one 7yo boy. When we taught him to do things like cross the street, buckle his seat belt on his own, stay away from dogs, not pick up knives, all sorts of "safety things" we did "safety patrol" so it would be fun rather then frustrating. Now hes 7 and there is actually a thing on Disney channel called "Lou and Lou's safety patrol"--kinda funny.

Boys like police and fire and stuff. So you tell him you are making him a member of the safety patrol. So he has to do safe things now since hes on it! You give him a list of the "Safety Patrols Safety Rules". Make number 1. Crossing the street right. Then list a few others you might be working on. Don't make it longer then 4 or 5. Give him fake tickets, a badge.

When he breaks the rule you say "safety violation" as a reminder. When he does it right--you say "Safety patrol!" Than he writes tickets to himself if he does it RIGHT!--thats the trick--he does it RIGHT and he gets a ticket. After he gets so many tickets he gets a prize. He will learn it fast, and you can remind him in a way that makes it fun.

My son is still known to say "safety violation" if he sees something wrong!

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K.H.

answers from Grand Junction on

I agree with all the other postings but I have another idea as well. When my boy was about that age. I took him out to an area with little traffic and practiced crossing the street. That was it. I think I even brought a friend of his so we could create peer support. I said, "OK now we are going to practice crossing the street. What do big boys ALWAYS do?" Then we would all say, "Stop and look both ways, left, right,left." Then we would do it. I would give encouragement and praise for how good they were following directions. Then I would say, "all clear, now what?" or "Car coming, now what?". We would then say either "Walk Tall!" or "Wait!" Again we would do it and then there would be high fives and whooo hoos when we crossed like big boys. I made it a game with lots of praise and simple rules that we used every time. All of us learn by doing and we remember through role playing and games. This is really a serious thing but the learning doesn't need to be. If you play this game often, I believe he will surprise you and begin to do it on his own, perhaps even teaching others how to do it. My son loved to teach what he knew, so when we had a new person with us, even it whas Grandma, I would say to him, "Ok, Son, let's teach Grandman how to cross the street like a big boy." This gave him a sense of confidence and solidified how smart I knew he was. Encouragement is always a great tool, when coupled with training.

Let me know how this works if you choose to try it.

K.

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J.H.

answers from Billings on

My daughter has a rhyme that she recites each time we get ready to cross the street:

Look left
Look right
Cross only
if No cars are in sight

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A.R.

answers from Denver on

Although this is an important issue, it really just requires good old fashioned persistence. I know it is frustrating, but boys mature differently than girls and can take longer to "get" things. He is clearly not defying you, just not remembering. That means you have to keep reminding him over and over. It's a pain, but you just have to keep minding him until he does get it. School will definitely help. Peer pressure is a powerful thing. Good luck!

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