This Summer: 10 Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe

If you ask your kids, which time do you like most? The obvious answer is summer vacation. Always kids like summer because there is no school and no homeworks. This break will be needed not only for kids; adults need much more than kids.

This summer holiday will be filled with lots of games, fun activities, swimming, cooking, travel and mainly outdoor fun with your friends and family members.

But the most important point is that summer not only brings fun, it also carries danger for many children. Accidents like drowning incidents will happen more during summer months. And also hot sun puts children at risk of sunburn, dehydration and other heat related issues. 

Whether you children are enjoying this summer at home, on road or at any fun cities is not important, you should always monitor your kids to see if they are safe or not. Follow these safety topics with your family to keep them healthy and happy.

Summer safety for kids

1. Keep watch to prevent drowning

Top of mind of parents during summer should be water safety. Whether you have a pool in your backyard or visit a private pool. Drowning takes a few seconds to happen. You should supervise the children all time when in or around water and you should make sure you have the right equipment to keep pools safe

2. Look for signs of heat exhaustion

Cases of heat stroke spike during the summer months, and this can be life-threatening in kids. Prior to heat stroke, children usually show milder symptoms like heat cramps and heat exhaustion. You should make sure that your children take water breaks and wear lightweight clothes while playing outside.

3. Check for car safety

Before hitting the road for a family vacation, you should make sure your child’s car seat is properly fitted. You should never leave a child alone. The temperature inside the car usually rises within a few seconds which makes your life more dangerous.

4. Protect skin from the sun

Whenever your child is going out, apply sunscreen with spf 30 or higher. You can reapply every 3 hours or immediately once your children have come in or any case of splashed by water. Try to avoid outdoor activities for your kids when sunshine peaks. And you should also consider dressing your children in sun protective clothing.

5. Protect your Eyes

Excess sunlight exposure can cause permanent damage to the eyes of your children. Exposure to bright sunlight plays a vital role for bad headaches. So, protect your kids eyes and their eyesight by wearing some sunglasses or coolers that will provide UV protection to your eyes. In case of wearing powered glasses, you should get your lens along with a UV protected layer. After a long and tiring day in the summer, applying an active cooling gel eye mask will provide a great relief to your eyes.

6. Avoid bug bites

As the weather rises up, all types of bugs usually come out in full force. To avoid these bug bites, you can apply insect repellant to your kids before they spend time outside. Try to avoid heavily scented soaps or lotions because these odours attract the bugs. So cover arms and legs of your kids as much as possible

7. Enjoy fireworks safely

More than 10K people are treated each year due to injury from fireworks. This ratio will be nearly 3 children under 15. If you are celebrating summer vacation with a bang, keep your kids safe. You should never let your young children touch or light fireworks.

8. Drink enough water

Usually kids are more prone to dehydration than adults. Dehydration risk increases as temperature rises. The amount of water your child should drink will vary by age, weight and their activity level. General rule is to take half of your child’s weight and that is the number of glasses of water they must drink everyday.

9. Don't monkey around

Usually kids like to play in the playground. But playing in outside areas causes more injuries. So you should always supervise the children on playgrounds and you should choose the right play toys for your child’s age and their skills. It’s always to check your play equipment before playing on it.

10. Wear a life jacket on boats

If you are going to the lake to spend some time with cool air this summer. You should make sure to bring an approved personal flotation device. When you lift it at the shoulders, the fitted life jacket is yet comfortable and will not move above the chin or ears.

11. Ride bikes the smart way

Apart from bikes and cars, bicycles are more related to more childhood injuries than any other consumer product. The first rule to prevent serious bicycle injuries in kids is to wear a helmet. You should make sure the bikes and helmets fit kids properly and follow rider rules to avoid injuries.

12. Dress light

It’s more important to wear breathable and lightweight clothes for your kids in summers to keep the temperature of the kids body regulated in the hot sun. For example, you can wear alternative natural fabrics like cotton and linen instead of wearing heavy clothing. In addition to that, trying to wear long sleeved clothes, hats and light scarves will help your skin from being exposed to the harmful UV rays and protect your skin. Try to wear light coloured clothes rather than dark colours because dark colours absorb the UV rays, making you feel hotter than usual.

13. Eat summer-friendly food

Try to give your kids to eat smaller meals and eat more fruits and vegetables which gives more energy for the body. This type of meal increases your energy levels and reduces the chances of you getting a heat stroke.

14. Always stay touch with your elders

The health of older people will sometimes be unpredictable. Especially during summer months, adults feel more tired and have less energy levels because of heat stroke. Hence older adults should try to accompany adults who would help them if required.