Friday, February 6, 1998 — North Shore News — 39 — Parents need to apply the brakes PICKING up on Jast wecek’s peeve on poor parenting, this week’s driving sermon focuses on the parents of pre- teens. It has apparently been proven that children learn by example and we here in Bonchead City aren’t setting very good ones, Worse, boncheads are sometimes Parents tao. It’s astonishing that hur- ried and harried parents will pick up their kids from Rockhead elementary by speeding through a 30 km-h schvol zone, then come toa sereeching halt in a No Stopping zone. Nor is it way cool that parents then speed off to the grocery store and only avoid killing other school kids for the fact that they spend more time in the air after hitting a speed bump just so. But those are thoughtless bad driving habits. Some folks shouldn’t even be teaching their kids how to walk. Look folks, if you can’t drive worth a lick you shouldn’t be teaching your i Conlin signals teen the rules of the road. Likewise, if vou don’r know how to walk across the street smartly, safely and lawfully, you shoutdn’r be toting vour tads bv the hand. “Think twice before you haul your kid to the car as the crow flies. Please.” More perplexing than the speed and dangerous laziness of some parents that are choosing to disregard park- ing regulations, thereby increasing the risk and reducing the visibility of all aprés-school-frenzy folk It’s both frightening and humorous when mom takes a mid-street mument to scold her kid for not hang- ing on to her purse strings tightly enough. Good grief. Look, you benehead par- ents, there are some pretty tremendous safety programs running at vour kids” schools, I can recall “stop, look, cross” lessons to this day. Better still, our streets arc strewn with haven't-learned- pot one of them. Thanks, mom. (Come to think of it, 1 secretly believe that mv mother followed me to school until Twas 17-years- old in order to ensure that | crossed streets sately). And how often have we seen a mom, her stroller, her toddler and her umbretla (and sometimes even her dog) valiantly trying to tind the satest wav to J-walk? (Hint, mons, there isa’t a sate way to J-walk.) involved, is the way these same parents are teaching their children to cross the streer. There’s Mommy and she’s ina bit of a hurry so she walks her wide-eyed tyke up the middle of the road and bee-lines him to the back seat of her illegally parked car. While she’s ar it, she stufts the child into the car from the driver’s side —— walking around the car Wastes precious seconds, after all. Makes sense when you realize that walking all the way over to the crosswalk and on further up the street to the street legal parking. spot uses up a lot of quality bonding time reserved for your kids when at home. If you've gor one of those kids who “you can’t turn your back on for a second,” you may want to worry a lit- tle more the first time Sally walks down to the mailbox by herself. While I've never raised a kid I have been one and I recall how easy it was to pick up bad habits. However, walking down the middle of the road was 1998 DODGE CARAVAN 8 V6, air cond., AMM cass. dual doors 0 99 g 7 passenger seating Ond generation air bags ues @ Air cond., alloy wheels, AM'FM Cass., 4.0 L engine GON Br eT + KO Bes, 1998 DODGE NEON a B38 im. loaded, leather interior, C/D sound system power sunroof a Air cond., a AM/FM Cass., H 4 door, automatc tinted windows, to-read-yet-but-those-pic- tures-are-pretty-obvious road signs telling every road user what's cool and what's not. Walking a kid through your favorite selection of bad habits is counter-productive, stupid and potentially deadly, Kids learn by example. Ny Think twice before you haul your kid to the car as the crow flies. Please. Don't be a bonehead, for your kid's sake. Be sate. CHEROKEE 4X4 *23,964'| CHEROKEE 5, 59 LTb 85.9 Litre, 245 HP V8, *41,991' A gold metal HANS and Ursula Weickardt are the proud owners of this 1997 ‘Blackcomb Special Edition” GMC Jimmy. The North Vancouver coupie won ihe sport utility in the Club Intrawest contest draw. News’ readers may remember the 83-year-old Hans as the master athlete who set the world record in the mile (on his feet, not in his Jimmy). In addition to the wheels, the Weickardts, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Dec 24th, received Blackcomb gear. § executive demo | Eee JY $900 7P $18. 870. 3 mos tenn + sop wes iscount superstore ] ROD and in tie pecial fina mm All wheel drive s ABS Air bags 80 watt AM/FM cassette Keyless entry Fog lamps & sport rack 165 H.P. engine Power windows & lacks Power heated mirrors FROM ry +PD.i., freight & taxes 980-2464, 1235 Marine Dr. North. Vancouver