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Wesley House

Wesley Neighbors
Promotes Safety for Children

Safe Kids









Photo: Safe Kids Coalition of Greater Knoxville


Keeping Our Kids Safe

As the neighborhood's composition changes, so has Wesley Neighbors. Numerous young families and couples moving into the area over the last few years are rejuvenating our neighborhood and "making it young again." As a result, Wesley Neighbors added child safety to its objectives and established partnering relationships with area schools and with the Safe Kids Coalition of Greater Knoxville.

Our main efforts are providing safety information in our monthly newsletters and linking parents and guardians with child-safety experts.

Preventing Injuries

Parents should be aware of the common causes of child injuries so they can prevent them. The following are common, and there are others.

  • Falls
  • Burns
  • Airway obstructions
  • Motor vehicles (cars, tractors, lawnmowers, etc.)
  • Poisoning
  • Drowning

No Lawnmower Rides for Children

Wesley Neighbors strongly supports expert advice against giving rides to children on riding lawnmowers, lawn tractors, and trailers pulled behind lawn tractors.

Experts say children riding on lawnmowers as passengers are the most common cause of lawnmower injuries for children, which include deep cuts, loss of fingers and toes, broken and dislocated bones, burns, eye punctures, and hearing impairment.

Children should not be near any outdoor power equipment in the first place. Children run over by adults using riding lawnmowers is the second most common type of lawnmower accidents according to child-safety experts.

The following web sites are just a few of many that provide responsible information about the dangers of lawnmower rides for children.


Preventing Abductions

In the autumn of 2004, an attempted child abduction in the Wesley Neighborhood was among several attempts in greater Knoxville. Wesley Neighbors became an information point for neighborhood associations throughout the area by sharing information through its web site, its e-mail networks, and via the news media.

What Parents Should Do to Protect Their Children

  • Be sure your children are supervised adequately for their ages.
  • Make arrangements with trusted neighbors, friends, or relatives if you cannot be home when your kids get home from school.
  • Restrict your kids to playing in your protected backyard instead of your exposed front yard.
  • Encourage your kids to play or wait for the bus with other kids so they won't be alone.
  • Don't assume that other people such as police, schools, and bus drivers will provide unconditionally safe environments for your kids.
  • Instruct your children on safe practices in case anything happens (see next list).
  • Call 911 immediately so they can respond while the case is still hot.
  • DO NOT confront the person. Let police handle it.
  • Act decisively and clear headed, and err on the side of caution.
  • Don't panic. It works against you.
  • Keep us informed so we can keep the neighborhoods informed.
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What Children Should Do to Protect Themselves

  • NEVER get in the vehicle of a person they don't know or go anywhere with a person they don't know.
  • RUN FAST from any unknown people who try to get them to go along with them.
  • Don't fall for tricks such as: "Can you help me find my dog."
  • Report the incident to trusted adults immediately.
  • Get good personal description such as hair style, clothing, size, age, color, voice, accent.
  • Get good vehicle descriptions including distinguishing features such as dents, stickers, dark windows, or loud mufflers.
  • Get vehicle tag numbers, even partial numbers.

Some people have said our child-safety advice is common sense. We believe in assuming nothing and erring on the side of caution when child safety is concerned.

Grace, Jake, and Scott Bishop enjoy
the safety of Wesley Road's new sidewalk.

Wesley Neighbors Community Association
916 Wesley Road, Knoxville Tennessee 37909-2663 USA
865-558-6280, e-mail@email.com