Have you noticed? Summer is here and along with summer comes more outdoor activities such as camping, swimming, fishing, and bike riding. In just two weeks we will be celebrating the 4th of July. During this time, we as parents must raise our Child Safety Threat Level to orange or high. Just as the Homeland Security Advisory uses levels to keep Americans vigilant, during the summer months parents must be vigilant and take notice of the activities and surroundings in which their children play to help reduce the potential for injury.

 

Children love water, but when they are around water they should never be left alone. Children should be taught to swim but even then younger children should not be left unsupervised. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that drowning is a leading cause of injury-related death in children. The AAP does not consider that children be taught to swim as a primary means to prevent drowning under age 4. This is not to say that they cannot take swimming lessons, but you should not consider your child drown proof because they have had lessons.

 

Children should also be warned about playing in fast moving water. Just recently, several children had to be pulled from a flooded creek during a thunderstorm.  The fire department has also had to rescue children who had been swept into a storm drain during another heavy rain event.

 

Remember you will need to wear a US Coast Guard approved life jacket when on a lake, river or ocean while boating, water skiing, jet skiing or tubing.

 

We should never let our children play around any water (lake, pool, ocean, etc…) without adult supervision. Horseplay, running or other forms or rough play around water can have hazardous results. Would you allow your child to play in a busy street? Allowing them to play around the pool is just as dangerous. Remember if you miss your child always check the pool first, even if you have it secured, then look elsewhere. In drowning incidents seconds can make the difference between death, recovery or just survival. 77% of the children have been seen 5 minutes or less before being missed and subsequently discovered in the pool.