Summer Safety Tips for Kids

School’s out for the summer and kids are ready to enjoy the long sunny days playing outdoors. 

From backyard barbecues, beach days and pool parties, to biking, boating, swimming and camping, summer vacation provides plenty of fun activities to keep children busy and entertained. 

But it’s also important to keep them safe. 

Making sure children are wearing a bike helmets when cycling, life jackets when on the water and applying sunscreen and insect repellent when spending time outdoors, are just some of the protective measures you can take to help them celebrate the season safely. 

Here are some other summer safety tips to follow.

Pool and Water Safety

Drowning is the leading cause of death among children 1-4 years old in the U.S. Making sure your children have formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88%. It’s also important to teach children about pool safety. 

Drowning doesn’t happen as it is portrayed in movies. You won’t hear your child yelling or struggling; drowning usually happens quietly and quickly.

• Use a U.S. Coast Guard-approved floatation device for all children that don’t know how to swim. Make sure they are wearing the life jacket when in or on the water. 
• Fences around pools should be slatted and at least four feet high, with a self-closing latch that’s out of reach of tiny hands.
• Alarms can be installed on doors and gates leading to the pool, and underwater pool alarms can warn you if something enters the pool.
• Keep rescue equipment including pool noodles, safety rings, rope and a first aid kit poolside and access to a phone nearby.
• Cover pools and hot tubs when not in use using a rigid cover that doesn’t collect standing water or a soft cover that can hold the weight of an adult.
• Remove ladders from aboveground pools when not in use and store them out of reach.
• Deflate and empty small pools when not in use.
• Always wear life jackets on boats, around open bodies of water or when participating in water sports.

Sun and Heat Safety

Kids love having fun in the sun, but when the temperature and humidity soars, it's important they take frequent breaks indoors to cool down and hydrate. 

To prevent sunburn and protect your child's skin from damaging ultraviolet rays, follow these sun safety tips (for children over 6 months old) from the American Academy of Dermatology.

• Generously apply a broad spectrum water-resistant sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. Reapply sunscreen every two hours and after swimming or sweating. 
• Wear protective clothing such as swim shirts, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses. 
• Seek shade whenever possible, particularly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun’s rays are strongest.
• Teach your teen to avoid tanning beds, which use UVA bulbs. Research has shown that UVA rays contribute to premature skin aging and can cause skin cancer.
• Dress children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothes for comfort. Make sure they drink lots of fluids and take breaks to cool down on excessively hot days to prevent heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
• Signs of heat exhaustion include: body temperature between 100 and 104 F, dizziness, weakness, lethargy, increased thirst and sweating, clammy skin, nausea and vomiting. 
• If you notice any of these symptoms, bring your child into a cool place and make sure they hydrate by drinking liquids. Apply cool compresses to their skin to help lower their temperature.

Bicycle Safety 

Bicycles are linked to more childhood injuries than any consumer product except automobiles. 

More than 200,000 children are treated for bicycle-related injuries in hospital emergency rooms each year, and according to the CDC, children ages 5-14 are greatest risk.

Wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk and severity of a head injury by more than 60 percent. 

• Make sure your child wears a helmet at all times when riding a bike, skating or skateboarding.
• Measure your child’s head to get the right size before buying a helmet.
• Ensure children wear their helmets properly and tighten the straps under the chin. Loose helmets may not protect a child’s head in a crash. 
• Make sure your child is riding a bike that is the right size for them.
• Inspect your child’s bike for safety; check the brakes, chain, handlebars and seat to ensure they work properly.
• Teach children the rules of the road – riding with traffic, following traffic signs and signals and walking bikes across busy intersections.
• Limit young children (under age 10) to riding their bikes on sidewalks or bicycle paths rather than the street. 

Insect Safety 

Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors but we share that space with a variety of buzzing, biting and stinging insects. 

More than just a nuisance, mosquitoes and ticks can transmit viruses such as West Nile, Zika, Chikungunya and Lyme disease, so it is important to protect against bug bites. 

• Don't use scented soaps, perfumes or hair sprays on your child as they attract insects.
• Check your window and door screens to make sure they fit tightly and repair any holes to keep bugs out of the house.
• Mosquitoes thrive in wet areas. Eliminate standing water in birdbaths or collecting in buckets, and empty kiddie pools and turn over when not in use.  
• Wear long sleeve shirts pants and socks if you will be outdoors at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
• Use bug repellent containing DEET to prevent mosquito and tick bite and the viruses they may carry. The recommendation for children older than 2 months is to use 10% to 30% DEET. DEET should not be used on children younger than 2 months of age.
• Cover up in long sleeves, pants, socks and a hat when walking in the woods, in high grasses or brushy areas. Check your child’s hair and skin for ticks at the end of the day.

Molly Mazanec, CNP is a pediatric provider at South Shore Medical Center and is accepting new patients. Learn more about pediatric care at South Shore Health.