How to make your summer a safe one
Keep these tips close by to keep your family safe and healthy this summer!
Sun safety
Water safety
Outdoor safety
Playground safety
Sun safety
- Keep an infant shaded from the sun, using a canopy or umbrella. Consult a doctor before using sunscreen on a baby younger than 6 months.
- For a child older than 6 months, use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Apply sunscreen liberally to all areas. Don't forget about the lips, scalp, nose, and ears.
- Reapply sunscreen every two to three hours, and always reapply after your child has been in the water or has been sweating.
- Use sunscreen even on overcast days because ultraviolet rays can penetrate clouds, fog, and haze.
Water safety- Always supervise your child in or near a pool. Toddlers, who can drown in only a few inches of water, must be watched around water of any kind, from the ocean to a lily pond. Be aware that large buckets filled with water are a leading cause of drowning in toddlers.
- Even accomplished swimmers should never swim alone.
- Teach your child not to dive into water unless he or she knows how deep it is and what the bottom is like.
- Learn CPR. For upcoming classes, call 1-888-Virtua-3.
Outdoor safety
- Point out poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac and instruct your child not to go near these plants.
- Be careful with gardening chemicals and supplies. Put fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals on a high shelf or locked in a cabinet when not in use.
- In wooded areas, dress your child in protective clothing. Repellents should be used sparingly when necessary and not on children under age two.
- Teach your child not to play with unfamiliar pets or wild animals.
- Never allow a child younger than 12 to operate a walk-behind mower. Children younger than 14 should not use riding mowers. And children should never ride as passengers with an adult on a riding lawn mower.
Playground safety
- Remove litter that could be dangerous if stepped or fallen on, especially glass.
- Be aware of broken or missing equipment, such as missing ladder rungs or handrails and entanglement hazards, such as open s-hooks connecting swing chains.
- Check for adequate protective surfacing (sand, wood chips, pebbles, or rubber mats) under and around equipment.
- Watch for sharp corners on edges of equipment or protrusions and tripping hazards, including tree roots and rocks.
- Don't let your children play on equipment that seems to be unstable or not properly anchored, or that is rusty, cracked or splintered.
- Check for hot surfaces, especially on sliding boards.