School starts later this week for children in the Selma City School System and isn’t far away for students in the Dallas County School System either.

With the start of a new school year, comes hundreds of worries for parents, like finding a way to leave work to pick up a child or making sure children are up in time to get ready.

However, nothing is more important this time of year than the safety of our children.

Motorists should leave a little earlier this week to prepare for first week back to school traffic at area elementary, middle and high schools. In school zones, those driving should always be extra careful, but during the first few weeks of school it’s worth a little bit of extra caution.

However, xchool zones aren’t the only area of danger.

Drivers should also pay attention in neighborhoods or the end of streets where many children will be waiting for the school bus.

It’s also important for parents to take a few minutes with children this week to explain the danger of roads.

Children should stand at least six feet away from the curb, according to the National Safety Council.

This will be a busy week for all parents with school-aged children, but having a safety discussion with your children can take a little of the pressure off.