Summer Safety

There is no better time for family fun than the Summer. Children and adults alike look forward to the long, sunny days filled with swimming, outdoor sports, excursions to far away places, and relaxing time with friends. However, Summer is also the time for a great many accidents and injuries. Let me give you some tips to keep your kids safe while still allowing them to have fun. For more details, I’ll refer you to the American Academy of Pediatrics web page that will give you much more detail on all these areas than I can cover in this article: www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/summertips.htm.

1. Supervision and common sense are your best guides – if you are uncertain about allowing your child to participate in a summer activity, likely you should not. That said, make sure you know where they are and who they are with – too many summer accidents occur due to poor supervision.
2. Be sun smart. Always use sunscreen SPF 30 and reapply every 2 hours and after swimming. Keep small children and infants out of direct sun – they can become overheated and dehydrated easily. Be sure all children drink plenty of fluids and cool down if they begin to appear red, flushed and fatigued. Avoiding the sun between 10-2 will help minimize sun exposure when the temperature is at its highest. Keep rehydration drinks on hand – including sports drinks.
3. Wear helmets and appropriate knee and elbow pads for ALL riding sports: bikes, scooters, skateboards. Make sure your kids are not riding on streets or in busy areas. Small children should never ride scooters – they do not have the coordination or reflexes to properly control them. No helmet, no riding!! Explain to your children that heads are not easily fixed – we only have one brain! I always tell kids that we can fix broken arms and legs, but don’t do so well with broken brains – all bets are off there. The best way to get your child to wear a helmet: wear one yourself!!
4. Know where your children are when mowing the lawn and never allow children to ride with you on ride-on mowers.
5. For water safety – pools and beaches, supervision and knowing your child’s swimming ability are crucial. Children should never be left alone by a beach or pool even for a moment – that’s when drownings occur. For pools, consider the newer alarm systems to alert you when the gate has been opened or when the water has been entered. For young toddlers and preschools, keep them within arms length at all times. If you need to leave the area, even for a moment, take your children with you.
6. For boating, everyone should wear a properly fitting life vest. Like with the helmets, setting a good example is the best reinforcement.
7. Wear insect repellent and avoid areas known to be hazardous either from infestation or from illnesss-containing insects. Use repellents that have 10% DEET, never more in children. Keep benadryl, calamine lotion, and 1% hydrocortisone on hand and use if your child is having a considerable amount of itching or difficulty with swelling or breathing. If your child does have trouble breathing due to an insect bite, seek emergency care – these can be very serious and life-threatening.
8. When in doubt, call your pediatrician to help you triage injuries and answer questions about any sick symptoms that may occur during the summer.
9. Keep a good stock of first aid supplies at home – bandaids, ace wraps, antibiotics ointments, guazze, ice packs, antiseptic cleanser, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, to name a few. Take some of these with you on summer outings.
10. Have a blast and be safe!!

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