 As spring weather turns warmer, every parent's thoughts begin to focus on summer planning.
Many families will go to the suburbs while more will stay home and send their children to local day camps. The summer is a happy time when children have more freedom to run, swim and ride their bikes. It is also a time when accidental injuries are more common. Many of these mishaps are unavoidable but a significant number could be avoided with a little common sense and planning. Here is a top-10 pre-summer checklist to help families get ready for vacationing: 1. Sun Protection: Keep the baby shaded even on cool sunny days I was called three times within one recent week with the same story. "The baby fell asleep in the carriage and was not totally covered by the shade or the umbrella on the carriage, and he woke up with a terrible sun-burn on one side of his face and on the elbow sticking out at his side." The obvious solution to this problem is to keep the baby shaded even on cool sunny days, and to use a sun hat and sun screen if total shade is impossible. The scary thing about this story is that one of the major risk factors for melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, is serious sunburn during the first three years of a child's life. The best sunscreen is one that is made for babies and children and has an SPF rating of 15 or higher. The lotion should be applied at least every four hours if the child is outdoors. Sun hats, tee shirts for swimming, and light long-sleeved clothing can go a long way in preventing sunburn at any age. Remember, there is no such thing as sun tanning - only sun damage. Even a "healthy"-looking tan is a sign of too much sun. Tanned skin is dried out and over the years will become leathery and wrinkled. As everyone knows by now, repeated sun damage to your skin can lead to skin cancer. 2. Bike Helmets and Other Protective Gear: All bikers need helmets, and all roller-bladers need helmets plus wrist, elbow, and knee guards. With proper gear, 90% of serious accidents can be avoided. > Continue to number 3 No one has commented on this article. |
