Keep the kids safe this summer

As the summer holidays approach, many parents begin to worry about their children. The holidays can be anything from six to eight weeks – a long time to keep those little cherubs out of mischief and fully occupied.

Naturally there are safety worries – if they are not signed up to some form of holiday care for the entire time, given the (hopefully) better weather they are probably out and about and there are all sorts of hazards to be aware of. Without advocating the ‘cotton wool kids’ scenario, it is however only sensible to be aware of the risks and prepare your children accordingly. So what is the best way to keep them out of harm’s way?

Sun safety
If the sun does shine, you want to ensure your little ones don’t burn. Young skin is delicate and very easily damaged by the sun. All children, no matter whether they tan easily or not, should be protected from the sun. One good rule to tell the kids is that if their shadow is longer than them, they are safe from the sun, if it is shorter, the sun can burn.

Tell them to stick to the shade and dress them in cotton clothing that is baggy and of close weave. If they have been playing in water, make sure they change into dry clothing as wet clothing is less protective.

To encourage fashion conscious children to dress appropriately, find them cool shades and hats that they really like and will keep on when you’re not looking. Use sunscreen wisely. Apply factor 15+ before they go outdoors and reapply often. Remember it washes off so use waterproof sunscreen if they are going to get wet.

Water safety
Water is great fun and a great attraction, but can be very dangerous. Most young people drown when they are swimming when and where they shouldn’t, ie in unsupervised lakes, rivers and canals, when warning flags are flying, or after drinking alcohol. Perhaps you can sit with the kids and use a fun way of explaining the dangers or agree to take them swimming at a certain point each week so that they are not tempted to go themselves.

Road safety
Always an issue but as they are spending more time outdoors in the summer walking and cycling, they need to have the road safety rules drummed into them. A cycle helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 per cent and there is no harm in getting the children to go over what they know about road safety so that it is fresh in their mind. You could look at websites together such as www.thinkroadsafety.co.uk

Play safe
Most sports injuries happen in informal situations such as street football games, or because young people don’t have the right protective gear. Make sure your kids are aware of what can happen. If you have a quarry or railway line near you, they can be temptations and time must be taken to explain the dangers of such places.

Substances
Older kids may be tempted to experiment with drugs or alcohol with the increased leisure time they have. Making sure you talk to your teenagers in a sensible way about this will help. You can point them in the direction of websites that can offer advice such as www.alcoholconcern.org.uk or www.talktofrank.com which is a wonderful site aimed at teenagers and listing substances, the health risk and the law. It includes information on peer pressure, getting help etc.

Stranger danger
During the holidays children are likely to spend more time unsupervised outside the home or on the internet. Help them to develop strategies for coping safely with potentially risky situations involving strangers. There is also the internet worry for those kids not going outdoors so safeguards need to be in place to help ensure that your children will not be exposed to unsuitable content or people over the Internet.

Safety at work
A lot of young people find jobs in the holidays and this can be a good way of acquiring valuable work experience. However, many of them end up working illegally or have accidents when working. This may be partly because they are unaware of their rights. Make sure you know all about their job and have checked it out with them before they start. Or maybe you could just keep them busy yourself with work – but you will have to stump up the payment!

First aid
Would your kids know what to do in an emergency? What if they were the first to arrive at the scene of an accident? It might be a good idea as well as something to occupy them to get them to find out about basic first aid. Perhaps they could attend a basic course with the St John’s Ambulance. www.sja.org.uk

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