Summer is full of good times and fun, kids look forward to summer break all year long. Summer coincides with many activities, sports, trips and adventures, along with the good times also brings new sets of concerns. There are summer health tips for kids that can be followed that will help children to make their summer break as safe as possible.
Summer Health Tip for Kids: Swimming Safety
There are basic swimming safety tips that can followed that could save a child’s life during the swimming season. It is wise idea to teach your child to swim and/or take your child to swim lessons. Always make sure a child of any age is being supervised even if the child is an excellent swimmer. Although swimming is great fun, there are safety factors that should be considered when at a pool, for example no diving in the shallow end, running, pushing or holding another person under the water. When it rains and storms, no one should be in the water due to the possibility of lightning strike. Explaining and demonstrating these simple summer health tips to children can greatly reduce the chance of a crisis and give kids a better understanding of the importance of water safety.
Skin cancer is a great concern for kids and adults, skin cancer is on the rise but taking a few precautions can help reduce the chance of skin damage caused by the sun. Make sure kids wear at least an SPF 30 sunscreen every time they go outside even if it is not a sunny day, the overcast skies can be just as damaging to the skin as sunny skies. Have kids where a hat and sunglasses if they feel comfortable, it is a great way to protect the ears, head, neck and eyes from sun exposure as they areas tend to be susceptible to sun damage.
Older kids can benefit from wearing insect repellent but making sure to wash the repellent off at the end of the day once their outdoor activities are over is equally as important. Younger children can benefit from being covered as much as possible such as long sleeved, light weight and light colored fabric as a good choice. If bug allergies are a concern such as bee stings, make sure to have the appropriate medications on hand and make people aware of your child’s medical concerns whom are often around your child.
Kids should be drinking water throughout the day to stay hydrated, a water bottle carried around through the day can really help to prevent dehydration and sluggishness. Drinking lots of water is so important especially when kids are out in the hot sun and children’s bodies tend to lose a lot of water through sweat.
Children get around by bike and most love to just ride around the neighborhood but knowing the rules of the road and protecting the body while bicycling is of great importance. Most drivers license facilities offer bicycle safety brochures for free and taking the time to go over the rules for bicycle traveling can really help to keep a child safe. There are many areas of the body that can be protected while riding a bicycle but the most important area to protect is the head, bicycle helmets are readily available at discount stores and specialized sporting good stores.
Summer time allergies can create havoc for a child, meeting with a physician before summer starts and making a plan of action of allergy prevention for your child can really help to alleviate the allergies before they start and help to make your child’s summer more enjoyable.
Summer Health Tip for Kids: Hot Cars
It is imperative to never leave a child of any age in a closed up car in the summer for even a few minutes. Even on a cool day with the sun shining can cause a car to heat up quickly, kids especially infants can overheat and get heat stroke in a matter of minutes. The few minutes saved by not removing a child from a vehicle is not worth the risk of death to your precious cargo.
Summer Health Tip for Kids: Fireworks Safety
Kids should never be allowed to play with any type of fireworks of any kind. Fireworks of any type give off tremendous heat and a serious burn or body part damage is always something that is possible when fireworks are being used. Fireworks should be left to the professionals.
Summer Health Tip for Kids: Poisonous Ivy and Other Poisonous Plants
Educating kids on the poisonous plants that may surround their play area is the first and most important step in poison prevention. If poisonous contact does occur, make sure to have any over the counter medication or prescription medication on hand so that the medication can be applied immediately to the affected area.
Many of the bumps and bruises that children receive come from the playground. If a child follows simple safety rules such as no pushing, kicking, running too fast and waiting your turn, many of the injuries can be prevented. Most schools have playground rules and explaining to your child that the same playground rules learned at school apply even during the summer may help to reduce the chances of a hurt child.
The summer health tips for kids highlighted here can make for a more enjoyable summer for you and your child. While summer should be fun, laughter and good times, keeping that summer fun going can happen by following some simple summer health tips for children.
