By Bonita Wilborn
You know it’s summer when the days are longer, the kids are out of school, and they’re ready to get out and enjoy the sun and the water. There’s something about this season that makes kids run faster and play harder.
Let’s address the most serious issue, drowning. Drowning happens quickly and quietly, not with a lot of splashing. Young children are naturally drawn to water. So it is imperative that you practice safety while enjoying the water whether it be in your back yard, at a community operated pool, or at a lake or river resort atmosphere. Here are a few tips to keep your children safe around the water:
• Stay off your cell phone! Don’t allow yourself to get distracted when your kids are in the water. Chatting with other parents is a common distraction, as well.
• Know your skills. Adults and caregivers should refresh their Infant Child CPR certification each year.
• Kids should never swim alone.
• Put a guard up. Even kiddie pools in back yards should be drained after use. For houses that have swimming pools, fencing should be at least 4 feet high and surround the pool on all sides, with doors that close and lock by themselves. The sun is another danger to children and adults during the summer months. Sun damage can range all the way from sunburn to sunstroke, so it’s important to be sun savvy!
A person’s sun exposure during childhood and adolescence is generally considered to increase the risk of melanoma.
• Apply sunscreen early and repeat. For kids six months and older (as well as adults), sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or greater reduces the intensity of UVRs that cause sunburns. Apply liberally 15 to 30 minutes before sun exposure so it can absorb into the skin and decrease the likelihood that it will be washed off. Reapply every two hours and after kids swim, sweat or dry off with a towel.
• Cover your skin. Dress kids in protective clothing and hats. Clothing can be an excellent barrier to UV rays. Many light-weight, sun-protective styles cover the neck, elbows, and knees.
• Keep infants out of the sun. Keep babies younger than six months out of direct sunlight, dressed in cool, comfortable clothing, and wearing hats with brims.
• Plan early morning play to avoid peak sun hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) as much as possible. Make sure you get a break from the sun when needed.
• Beware of shade. Many people think sitting in the shade is a simple sun compromise. Shade does provide relief from the heat, but it offers parents a false sense of security about UVR protection. You can still get a sunburn in the shade because the light is scattered and reflected. A fair-skinned person sitting under a tree can burn in less than an hour.
Beware of Bugs! Unfortunately, blood-sucking critters like mosquitoes are a part of summer nights and days. Here are a few suggestions on how to stay safe from insects:
• Spray and repeat repellant. Parents or caregivers should spray kids’ exposed skin and clothing. Reapply whenever the spray gets washed off, or the child starts getting bitten again.
• Check for allergic reactions. Some kids react to insect bites more than others. If your child gets bitten and seems to have an allergic reaction to the bite, seek medical attention.
• Beware of serious bug-borne illnesses. Eastern Equine Encephalitis (“Triple E”) and the West Nile Virus are both mosquito-transmitted illnesses that come with flu-like symptoms. If you think your child could have either of these illnesses, go to a doctor. It’s better to be safe.
• Check for ticks. Ticks thrive in warm, moist, woodsy areas, so ideally kids should wear long clothing to cover their skin. To help prevent ticks from attaching themselves to your kids, check them, and shower them within two hours of coming indoors. Clothes are a culprit, too. Ticks can come in on a T-shirt. If you think the clothes aren’t dirty enough to need washing (dream on), do it anyway. Placing clothes in the dryer on high heat for at least an hour will kill any ticks. Check their entire body, not just forearms, and legs, including under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs, around the waist, etc. If a child develops any rash or fever after a tick bite, visit the doctor.
Dehydration is yet another danger during the summer months. To prevent dehydration, kids should:
• Drink 12 ounces of fluid, 30 minutes before an activity begins and take mandatory fluid breaks. With kids under 90 pounds drinking five ounces every 20 minutes during activities and kids over 90 pounds drinking nine ounces every 20 minutes. Tip: A child’s gulp equals a half-ounce of fluid, so your child should drink about ten gulps for every 20 minutes of play.
• Watch for warning signs of dehydration, such as thirst, dry or sticky mouth, headache, muscle cramping, irritability, extreme fatigue, weakness, dizziness, or decreased performance.
Preventing head injuries by observing helmet safety is extremely important, particularly during the summer when kids spend a lot of time outdoors riding bikes.
• Kids should always wear a properly fitting helmet
• Don’t forget to fasten the chin strap; some people don’t bother.
• Make a family rule: no helmet, no wheels!
• Parents and caregivers, you must serve as an example: Wear your helmet.
Never, never, never leave your child in a hot car. It only takes 10 minutes for a car to heat up by 19 degrees. Never leave a child alone in a car, even for a minute. Degrees can be deceiving. Fatalities can occur at temperatures as low as the mid-50s because a vehicle heats up so quickly. Children are at great risk for heat stroke because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s body does. Cracking a window is NOT a safe solution.
