I've trained my kids to stay a clear distance away (usually a few meters) from the road and pedestrian crossing, until the rest of us catched up. If drivers stop or slow down nonetheless, they shake their head while waving the driver through. Best solution I have so far.
I do the same for busses, if no one else is waiting with me, so that the bus drivers can just skip the stop (if no one wants to get off).
I take it a step farther and just start walking down the sidewalk away from the road until they pass, and then turn around.
I wonder if any culture has developed a more complex vocabulary of pedestrian-driver communication. It seems tricky though, since the costs of miscommunication are so high -- you don't want to risk false negatives about intending to cross the street.
We do a lot of walking around the neighborhood with kids, which usually involves some people getting to intersections a while before others. I'm not worried about even the youngest going into the street on their own—Nora's been street trained for about a year—but we have to be careful about what signals we send to cars. Someone standing at an intersection facing traffic looks to a driver like they're waiting for the opportunity to cross.
Waving drivers to continue doesn't work well: they tend to slow down significantly, and many of them will wave back in a misguided attempt at "no, you first" politeness. Instead, what seems to work well is turning your back to the street:
This isn't perfect: some drivers still read anyone stationary near an intersection as intending to cross, but it's pretty good. And it's especially good for little kids: not only do they often like to look intently at passing traffic in a way that is concerning to drivers and passers by, but it's a clear signal to the parent that the kid knows it's not time to cross yet.
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