How to Avoid Backyard Dangers During Summer

Although summer is a time for playing outside and having fun, it can also be a dangerous time if, as a parent, you are not diligent of your child's safety. Nearly three million children visit the emergency room each summer due to seasonal-related injuries.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Avoid letting children drink water from a hose. Although you may have done it when you were a kid, there is the possibility that your hose could release lead and other chemicals into the water. Keep a pitcher of water in an easy-to-reach place, instead, so kids can help themselves.
2. Buy separate sunscreens and insect repellents instead of a combination formula. Unlike sunscreen, which washes off with water and must be reapplied, many insect repellents do not wash off with water. Reapplications of insect repellents containing DEET can be toxic to a child.
3. Make sure that windows remain secured and are childproof, especially upper-level windows. Thousands of children require emergency-room care each summer after falling out of windows.
4. Purchase a helmet, kneepads and elbow pads for your child to wear when he rides his bike, skates or skateboard. Head injuries due to falls from these types of sports equipment typically goes up during the summer months.
5. Teach the importance of dog safety to your child, and stress that he should never approach a dog he doesn't know.
6. Enroll your child in a swimming safety class. Remind him that swimming should always be done with an experienced adult.