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Safety Lessons Make Kids the Teachers

4 May 1999

Safety Lessons Make Kids the Teachers as Ford, KinderCare Join Forces in Safety Program

    DEARBORN, Mich., May 4 -- Mr. Egg began his daily commute one
morning the way millions of other commuters do -- without his seat belt on.
Whack, smack and splat -- Mr. Egg's journey ended in an unfortunate mess
witnessed by some attentive pre-schoolers at a local KinderCare Learning
Center.  Fortunately Mr. Egg is a real egg, not a person, and his "crash" was
staged to show the kids the importance of being buckled up properly.
    Ford and KinderCare have teamed up to bring the safety message
to young children right in their child care center.
    "We want to make safety interesting for children," said Windstar Vehicle
Line Director Mary Ellen Heyde of Ford Motor Company.  "So we've done some
unusual things, like the egg demonstration.  Our goal is to teach the kids the
importance of buckling up and riding in the back."
    "The setting at KinderCare is ideal for teaching the children about
safety," said Suzanne Gall, area manager for KinderCare.  "Our comfortable,
familiar setting facilitates learning.  The information is almost immediately
relayed to parents when they pick their kids up from school."
    The program began as a Ford "Business Leadership Implementation" effort,
designed to promote Ford employee involvement with the community.  Since
Windstar is the safety leader and a popular family minivan, getting a safety
message out to children was a natural combination.
    The 1999 Ford Windstar has been awarded unprecedented top safety scores in
all categories of crash protection in the government's New Car Assessment
Program.  Windstar is the only vehicle to earn the five-star rating in both
front and side impact crash tests.  Windstar has earned the government's five-
star safety rating for five years in a row, and has more than 40 standard
safety features.  Ford has also partnered with Sesame Street to sponsor a
multi-city safety tour which encourages kids and parents to buckle up and ride
in the back seat.
    Pilot programs will begin at five KinderCare Learning Centers this spring
and five more in the fall.  Ford and KinderCare will evaluate the
effectiveness of the pilot programs and consider extending the safety program.
    KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc., based in Portland, Oregon, is the
leading preschool and childcare provider in the United States.  KinderCare
operates 1,149 childcare centers in 39 states and the United Kingdom, with an
average enrollment of 119,000 full-time and part-time children, and employs
more than 22,000 people.  The World Wide Web address for KinderCare Learning
Centers is http://www.kindercare.com.