Community child safety programs in both Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington aim to instill a sense of awareness in the minds of young children.
Both cities will again host programs introducing safety awareness and preventive procedures to preschool children and cover safety topics such as stranger awareness, fire safety, poison avoidance, water safety and safety around animals.
The Upper Arlington Police Division’s three-hour a day, two-week Safety Town program attracts approximately 400 kindergardeners each summer and has been held since 1971.
“They will be introduced to what police officers do in the community,” says Heather Galli, community relations officer of the Upper Arlington Police Division. “In addition, children also spend time on our miniature village where they learn how to walk safely and cycle following basic guidelines and rules.”
From the first day of the program until the last, the children are directly interacting with certified teachers, Upper Arlington’s law enforcement officers and representatives from the city’s Fire and Aquatics divisions, and representatives from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Burn Unit.
Children are taught how to react when the house catches fire, to identify poisons that may look like regular food, the importance of maintaining their bicycles and how to remain safe in and around the water whether they’re swimming, boating or fishing.
The Grandview Heights Parks and Recreation Department offers a similar program known as SafetyView Heights. The Grandview Heights program was Safety Town when it was established in 1978. The name was changed to SafetyView Heights in the mid-1990s.
Marta Durban, recreation supervisor, says parents need to assist their children in getting acquainted with safety issues within the home area and outside of it where they play.
“We look at different perspectives of what we can do to help children be more alert and active about safety,” Durban says. “We also have our police and fire department come down, and they also have an interaction with our kids, and (the children) just love to look at both the police vehicle and the big fire truck. That’s as close as some people even get to our law enforcement and our emergency crew.”
Certified teachers and long-time residents of Grandview Heights conduct the program, assisted by volunteers from local middle schools.
“The teachers went through this program when they were kids, their kids have gone through it, and now they’re teaching other families’ children,” Durban says.
Children at SafetyView are put into groups when they first arrive and are taken from one station to another to draw, write, sing and learn via interactive activities – such as riding on small vehicles to practice street safety. But Durban explains that what they offer at Grandview Heights is more than just safety awareness.
“SafetyView is the very beginning of that because they actually help those kids to walk away with their own little books that they craft themselves,” Durban says. “SafetyView also teaches the kids how to get along with each other, and you can’t do that unless you bring them together in a safe environment to promote that kind of education.”
The Upper Arlington Police Division feels similarly about the weight Safety Town carries in the lives of the both the children who participate and their parents.
“Even at a young age, children can be empowered to be participate in their own safety, and, particularly in this age group, they are very involved and see what’s going on in and around their lives,” Galli says. “It’s an incredible opportunity for the students and for parents to leave a positive lasting impression of mutual respect with public safety forces.”
Nen Lin Soo is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Safety Town – Upper Arlington
Greensview Elementary, 4301 Greensview Dr.
Children must be 5 years old or first grade students prior to Sept. 30 to qualify.
Four sessions are held: - Session A: June 16-27, 9 a.m.-noon - Session B: June 16-27, 1-4 p.m. - Session C: July 7-18, 9 a.m.-noon - Session D: July 7-18, 1-4 p.m.
Register online at www.uaoh.net, via mail, or in person at the Upper Arlington Parks & Recreation Department during office hours. A graduation ceremony will be held after each session has concluded. Cost is $85 for Upper Arlington residents, $102 for non-residents.
SafetyView Heights – Grandview Heights
McKinley Field Shelter House, 1661 Goodale Blvd.
SafetyView accepts children from preschool through first-grade.
The runs June 9-20 from10 a.m.-noon. Parents can register their children in person at the Grandview Heights Parks and Recreation Department. Students receive certificates upon completion of the program at the graduation ceremony on June 20 at 11:30 a.m. Cost is $60 for Grandview Heights residents, $70 for non-residents.
