Kids seem to love spring and summer. For most parts of the country, everyone gets more fun in the sun thanks to the warmer weather. But with all those extra activities, from swimming in pools, to beach days, to camping and bike riding, come more risks. Accidents happen and part of being a kid is understanding the sting of that first (or seventh) sunburn. But parents need to be extra vigilant to watch out for serious sun and water hazards.
Love Holidays published a guide on vacation and summer safety trends, and so we were inspired to create this list of our own to help parents know how to make this summer both stress-free and fun. Sunscreen is a start, and at the top of our list, but here are more tips to prevent burns, injury, and even heat stroke during the warmest months.
More from CafeMom: 15 Skin Care Mistakes Everyone Makes in the Summer
Sunscreen!
Applying sunscreen to yourself and your children is one of the most important things you can do each day, but especially in the spring and summer. Nobody likes sunburn, least of all parents of kids who will make their lives miserable if they’re in pain, but because UVA and UVB rays can cause serious long-term damage to their skin.
Wear Protective Clothing
Sunscreen is one way to protect against the sun, but it can only do so much. For children extra prone to burning or in a time or place with more intense sun, it’s a good idea to dress them in UV-protective clothing. Try long-sleeve swimsuits, rash guards, and bucket hats to protect their bodies from sun damage.
Be Cautious Midday
During the middle of the day, both the UV index and air pollution tend to peak. Check a weather app for the UV index and air quality before going out. During peak sun hours, it’s good to make sure to reapply sunscreen, keep hats on, and check the air quality for pollution levels.
Avoid Dehydration
Keeping the kiddos hydrated is one of the easiest ways to keep them safe in the heat. Getting a water bottle that they can take with them everywhere, or that you can have handy to make drinking water fun, is a smart way to get them to drink as much water as possible. This is especially important in summer when they tend to sweat more while playing in the heat.
More from CafeMom: 20 Signs of Dehydration To Watch Out For
Treat Sunburns With Cool Water
Sunburns will happen. We should wear sunscreen to minimize instances, but it’s hard to have absolutely everything covered. If a burn happens, press a cool towel on the area, take a cool bath, and use a kid-safe aloe ointment or lotion on the area to slow down chafing and irritation. And keep drinking water.
Keep Pools Secure
In the US, drowning is a leading cause of death for kids, especially if they’re between the ages of 1 and 4 years old. The good news is that many of these deaths can be prevented with extra precautions, such a making the pool an off-limits place when a parent or adult isn’t present. Install a pool fence or alarm to help child-proof the pool area.
Sign Up for Swim Lessons
Another way to prevent swim deaths or drowning scares is to equip kids with the skills and confidence to keep themselves afloat in the water in general, but especially if there’s an emergency. Swim lessons are a controlled place for kids to learn how to do that — and they’ll have lots of fun doing it, too.
Know Heat Stroke Symptoms
Heat stroke is no joke, and it’s sneaky. So it’s important to look out for the heat stroke signs in kids. Some of those signs include flushed, hot, dry skin; loss of consciousness; confusion; absence of sweating; fainting or dizziness; and nausea or vomiting. If your kids show any of these signs, put them in a bath of cool water, or put cold towels on them and bring them indoors to a cool place and undress them before calling for medical help.
Never Leave Kids in a Parked Car
Never ever, under any circumstance, leave a child, or any living thing, in a car alone, but especially in warmer months. Many children have died over the years from being left in hot cars, and yes, it’s still dangerous even with the window cracked. Ways to prevent these deaths include making sure no child is accidentally left in the car, making sure no child climbs in a car unattended, and getting help if you see another child in a car alone.
Make Diving Off Limits
Diving is best left to the professionals. Diving into shallow waters is especially dangerous, and an easy way to get a head or spine injury and possibly drown. Warn kids, tweens, and teens not to dive unless in a diving zone with supervision. Make sure your kids understand pool safety.
Set Guidelines & Have a Plan
Speaking of warning kids not to do things that are unsafe, it’s also important to tell them about non-water hazards, too, such as looking both ways before riding a bike into the street and wearing a helmet. Set guidelines for when the kids are around water, such as never swimming without an adult nearby and telling them who and how to call for help in an emergency.
Use Life Vests
Armbands and pool floaties are adorable, and it seems a lot of kids use them and have been using them for years. While they’re a good start to pool safety, according to Love Holiday’s summer safety tips, “life vests are the safest option — these won’t slip off as easily and cover the entirety of a child’s torso.”
Use Goggles & Ear Plugs
Proper equipment, no matter how small, can go a long way in making swimming safer. For water safety, things like googles and ear plugs can protect kids from getting salt, chlorine, or other foreign substances in their eyes, and ear plugs are good for preventing a swimmer’s ear infection.
Set Boundaries & Identify Lifeguards
When at a public pool or beach, set boundaries with kids in terms of how far out they can walk down the beach or go in the water. Tell them they must be in sight at all times and let them know where the lifeguards are ahead of time so that if they need help, they’ll know exactly where to look.
Make Running Rules
It’s not the most fun rule for kids, and even us older generations hated being told not to run, but we get it now. Running in places that have hard cement can lead to skinned knees. And running on slippery pool decks can lead to falling into a pool. It’s better to just enforce this rule than deal with the consequences.
Bring a Water Bottle
Having a water bottle handy in the spring and summer months is great for preventing dehydration, but it’s also a life hack if, or when, something such as sand at the beach, makes its way into little one’s eyes — that’s never fun. It’s also good to have water to clean wounds, in a pinch, when out and about.
Take Frequent Bathroom Breaks
Checking diapers, regular or swim, and just generally making sure your kids aren’t soiling the water, is doing everyone a good service. It helps keep the pool clean and uncontaminated for everyone to have summer fun. And when they do need a change, try to do it away from the pool area or beach.
Keep Bugs Away With DEET
Going camping, being at a beach, or hanging out in a backyard where mosquitos are around means that you should use bug spray to prevent itchy bites. But not all bug sprays are effective: “The AAP recommends that repellents should contain no more than 30% DEET when used on children.” Repellents are not recommended for children younger than 2 months old.
*Disclaimer: The advice on CafeMom.com is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.
