It’s time again for our Summer Safety Blog! We’ve included 10 tips below to keep your kids safe this summer.
1. Always be careful around pools and open water.
- Go over pool rules with your kids and make sure they know to never get in a pool without an adult.
- Don’t let children swim when you are not home.
- Make sure there are parents or adults around if your child is swimming at someone else’s house.
- If you have a pool, use pool alarms and four-sided fencing around pools.
- For more drowning prevention, visit: https://ndpa.org/?fbclid=IwAR0EISSyXqfSEJjfVAyvVYTp8gUJs-NwMUbz-Fx07ErMtO8PFYS2slTMC7g
2. Teach babysitters, youth, and teenagers about safe sleep.
- Don’t forget to teach babysitters, especially youth and teenagers who are caring for siblings, cousins or family friends, about safe sleep when they are caring for children under the age of one.
- Babies should always sleep alone, in a crib and on their backs, even for naps. Don’t let a baby sleep in a swing or car seat, always move them to a crib. Make sure there are no blankets or stuffed animals in their cribs.
- For safe sleep information, http://cacofniagara.org/safe-sleep-awareness-month/
3. Never leave children alone in the car.
- Especially on warm or hot days.
- Even if it is for a few minutes. Cars heat up FAST.
- Always LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK!
4. Make sure firearms are never accessible to children, youth or teens.
- Talk to children so they know if they are at a friend’s house, it is never ok to access, touch or play with firearms.
- To find FREE gun locks in your area, visit: https://projectchildsafe.org/?fbclid=IwAR0ppHiPpFHHFab-zWmXH7W8bW-Bj3GouML3LMgdzrVgyw6IiYs7H984fy4
5. Follow bike safety.
- Always make sure your kids wear a bike helmet!
- Go over safety rules with them. Where are they allowed to go on their bike? Are there roads that are off limits?
- Teach your children pedestrian safety.
6. Put sunscreen on your children.
- Children can burn quickly so make sure you reapply sunscreen multiple times a day if they are outside, especially in a pool.
7. Create an internet safety plan.
- Once school is out, kids will have much more free time, establish rules and boundaries around how much time they can spend online, what they can do, and what video games they are allowed to play.
- Check in and make sure they are following the rules, and don’t forget to look at your internet history to see what kids are searching online.
8. Check your home for potential poisons.
- Make sure medications, alcohol, and chemicals are all stored safely away and children, youth and teens can’t access them.
- Consider using a medication lockbox for all your medication.
9. Use caution with fireworks, sparklers, and fire pits.
- According to the National Fire Protection Association, fireworks cause thousands of injuries each year and sparklers account for roughly one-quarter of emergency room fireworks injuries.
- Children can also easily burn themselves with hot embers or ashes around fire pits or bonfires.
10. Create a safety plan.
- This is especially important if you have children old enough to stay home alone while you go to work.
- Layout easy instructions for children and youth about what your child can and can’t do while you are away at work.
- Give your children contact information if they need to reach you and contact information for others you trust in the event your child can’t reach you.
- Make sure your child knows how to dial 911!
