Summer Safety

As the days get longer and warmer, here at Johns Creek Pediatrics, we are getting excited about SUMMER!!!  Sunshine, swimming, playing outside, picnics, and popsicles are just a few of our favorite things.  In these days of quarantine, limiting time on devices and encouraging fun and safe outside play is so important.  With the arrival of beautiful weather this time of year and increased outside time, we also often see an increase in injuries. We have a few safety tips to share to help you and your family stay healthy while enjoying the beautiful weather and fun activities that this season brings.

1. Water safety.   Never leave your children alone in the water.  Close supervision by a responsible adult is key to enabling everyone to have fun and stay safe while swimming.  Non-swimmers and children under age 5 years should always have a responsible supervising adult within arm’s reach.  Don’t rely on floaties.  Make sure everyone learns how to swim.  The drowning rate actually goes up again during the teenage years so be sure to continue supervision.  If you have a pool in your yard, install a sturdy at least 4 foot fence around it and consider alarms.  Never swim alone.  Be aware of currents at the beach and teach children to swim parallel to the beach along with the current if stuck in a rip tide.  On boats or around docks, everyone should always wear a well-fitting life jacket. 

2. Bike and scooter safety.  Be sure to wear your bicycle helmet for any sport on wheels (whether just in the driveway or neighborhood or on a long ride).  Ride on the right side of the road with traffic and teach your children appropriate hand signals.  Wear sturdy, close-toed shoes while riding.  Elbow, knee, and wrist pads are also a good idea if rollerblading or skating.  Avoid the use of hoverboards.   

3. Stay hydrated.  Be sure to drink plenty of water and avoid getting overheated.

4. Wear that sunscreen or stay in the shade.  Keep little ones under 6 months of age in the shade and out of direct sun as much as possible-you may apply a small amount of sunscreen to sun-exposed areas if needed and wash it off afterwards.  Avoid being out as much in the most intense hours of the day- usually from 10 am to about 4 pm.  Wearing tightly-woven lightweight clothes, hats, and sunglasses can help to prevent sunburn.  Use a broad spectrum sunscreen that blocks UVA and UVB rays with an SPF of at least 30.  On sensitive areas, like faces, consider using a zinc oxide or titanium oxide containing sunscreen.  Apply enough to thoroughly cover the skin, apply 15-30 minutes before going out, every 2 hours while out, and after swimming or sweating.

5. Use bug spray.  On children over 2 months of age, use insect repellent.  Apply the necessary amount to clothes and body and wash off afterwards.  See the linked article from healthy children.org with guidance on different types and how to choose an appropriate repellant.  

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Insect-Repellents.aspx

6. Enjoy ONLY professional firework shows.  Fireworks can cause severe injuries, burns, blindness, and death.  Even sparklers, which are often thought to be harmless, reach extremely high temperatures and can be dangerous.  Enjoy the firework shows, but leave them in the hands of the pros!

7. Golf carts and ATVs.  As pediatricians, we see a lot of very serious injuries of children and teenagers from golf cart and ATV accidents.  We recommend avoiding use of ATVs.  Golf carts should ONLY be operated by a responsible licensed driver. 

8. Avoid trampolines.  While they may be fun to use, thousands of people are injured on trampolines each year and kids under age 6 years are at the highest risk.  Even with appropriate padding, nets, and supervision, trampoline use can lead to broken bones, concussions, and serious head and neck injuries.  Rather than buying a trampoline for your home, we recommend choosing other fun and safer outside activities for you and your family to enjoy.  

While we recognize that childhood and playing involve some risks and we can’t bubble wrap our children (as much as we mamas might like to), these are some of our tips to help you and your family to have as fun and safe of a summer as possible.  Hopefully, we can emerge from this season of outside adventures with little more than a few skinned knees!