Summer Safety Tips for Kids and Families
Posted by Donna Dolezal Zelzer on June 13th, 2006
Summer is fast approaching (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), so I thought it would be helpful to share a few warm weather safety tips based on information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Be sure to wear a helmet and other safety gear when biking, skating and skateboarding, and when riding scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and horses. Studies on bicycle helmets have shown they can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent. However, these helmets should not be worn while on the playground, climbing trees and similar types of play. The strap can become caught on play equipment or branches, possible choking your child.
If you have a charcoal grill, never use it indoors. Burning charcoal produces deadly carbon monoxide.
Make sure your home playground is safe. Falls cause 60 percent of playground injuries, so having a safe surface is critical. Concrete, asphalt or packed dirt surfaces are too hard. Surfaces around and under playground equipment should be covered with at least 12 inches of loose-fill surfacing materials such as wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or be made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
Don’t allow a game of hide-n-seek to end in tragedy. CPSC has received reports of children who suffocated when they crawled inside old cedar chests, latch-type freezers and refrigerators, iceboxes in campers, clothes dryers and picnic coolers. Be sure to childproof old appliances and warn children not to play inside them.
Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of open windows. Guards should be installed in any room where young children spend time. You could also install window stops that permit windows to open no more than 4 inches. Whenever possible, open windows from the top—not the bottom. And keep furniture away from windows to discourage children from climbing near windows.
For more summer safety tips visit the CPSC site.
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