Summer is here and now, we just need to survive it. There is loads of fun to be had but we must remember to be safe or the fun will be cut short, and in its place we will be left with unhappiness and perhaps even a side of pain and a trip to the emergency room.
It’s inevitable that the more we are outside running around with less clothes and more energy, accidents will happen; scraped knees, road rash, a concussion or two and more than likely some degree of sunburn.
Here are a few friendly reminders of what to keep your eyes on to spend your summer healthy.
Water: The temperature outside rises and everyone wants to head to the closest body of water, be that splash pads, pools, the lake, the river or the beach. It’s always a lot of fun but we really need to keep our eye on those little ones. I can’t stress this enough. I always make sure that my little one’s are wearing some sort of flotation device since they are still not very good swimmers.
If headed to a natural body of water, check the temperatures and conditions ahead of time, including where the shallow areas are to avoid diving incidents and deep points to avoid drowning. No matter where you are, always keep an eye on your children; poor supervision is responsible for around 68 percent of deaths in children under the age of 5. Like my mama always said, a kid can drown in a teaspoon of water.
Sun: Summer is an easy time to get dehydrated between the higher temperatures and the almost insatiable need to be outdoors to expend all of that extra energy we stored up and didn’t use over the winter. Make sure that if you are outside, you are drinking plenty of water. This also goes for your children and the family dog.
Try to avoid highly aerobic activities during the day’s hottest hours, which are 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. make sure that you know the signs of dehydration, for example, dizziness and dark colored urine.
Always make sure to put sunscreen on your children, especially if they will be playing outside in the sun during those dangerous sun exposure hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. I use SPF 50 on my girls along with a sensitive SPF 50 for their faces. It needs to be reapplied after every 80 minutes of playing outside whether they are in water or not.
You don’t want to be the mommy who forgot the sunscreen and let your little one get burnt. A burnt child is an unhappy child and the mommy of an unhappy child is an unhappy mommy.
Car Accidents: To avoid your child getting hurt in an unforeseen car accident, be sure to install that car seat correctly. A properly installed car seat reduces fatal injury up to 71 percent. Also, make sure that the little ones are stopping and looking both ways before crossing the street and using cross walks, even when chasing after that dang pied piper of children the ice cream man.
It’s also a good idea to insure that your children are using common sense and wearing their helmets and obeying the rules of the road when riding their bikes on the street.
Fireworks: Fireworks are fun to set off and pretty to watch. I remember, as a kid, running around the neighborhood with sparklers blazing. I would never let my own girls do that. Were my parents crazy? Handing shooting flames to a preschooler and hoping they have the good sense not to get burnt.
Even if you managed to not sear your retina with a rogue spark, you almost definitely at some point during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, stepped on a hot sparkler that the kid before you dropped in a hurry as his sparkler attacked him. What’s the moral of the story you ask? Just say no to sparklers. Stick with the pop its and snakes.
Leave the firework detonation to the adults or better yet, go to a public fireworks display. It’s cheaper, safer and better than you most likely will be able to provide yourself.
What is your number one summer safety tip?
Photo Source: Paalia
