Get ready for a safe summer: 6 outdoor summer safety tips for kids
With temperatures finally rising to consistently warmer temperatures across the country, it’s the perfect time for kids to spend more time in the great outdoors.
But before you or your nanny heads outside with the kids, keep these tips in mind to minimize the risks associated with many everyday outdoor activities.
1. Protect from Tick Bites
The deer tick (also known as the blacklegged tick) can be carriers of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease can cause severe complications if left untreated, so it’s important to know how to prevent tick bites and then to recognize the signs and symptoms if you suspect your child has been bitten. Ticks are alive at temperatures above freezing but are most abundant in spring and summer.
Common activities where ticks may be present
Playing in the park or neighbourhood gardens, hiking, or camping. Because ticks can be present in any wooded area or area with tall grasses, it’s important to be vigilant any time your child is engaging in activities in these environments.
How to recognize the signs and symptoms
Not everyone gets the “bull’s eye” rash that most people associate with tick bites, so it’s important to be aware of all the potential signs, some of which may occur within a month after an infected tick bite and others which may only occur later.
Besides the skin rash that migrates out in a bull’s eye pattern at the site of the tick bite, other early signs of infection can include flu-like symptoms such as:
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Muscle aches and joint pains
How to avoid getting bitten
Make sure your kids are covered up as much as possible, especially when they will be playing in high-risk areas where they may brush up against grasses, bushes, and other vegetation. They should wear light-coloured clothing so it’s easier to spot the ticks, wear pants tucked into socks, closed-toe shoes, and long-sleeved shirts.
If your kids will be in heavily wooded areas, consider also spraying a bug repellent containing DEET or Picardin onto clothes and exposed skin, making sure to read the instructions for proper use.
After returning home, run their clothes at high temperatures in the dryer for 10 minutes before washing to kill any ticks that may have clung onto the clothing.
And don’t forget to check your dog for ticks too if he was out with the kids!
Please visit the Government of Canada’s Public Services link here for more information about all the symptoms of Lyme disease including photos showing common rashes, how to remove and identify a tick, and other helpful resources.
2. Protect from the Sun
It’s never too early to start protecting your kids from early signs of aging and sun cancer. While the sun provides an important daily dose of vitamin D, it is also the source of damaging UV radiation. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, there are two types of UV rays that are proven to contribute to the risk of skin cancer: UVA and UVB.
Check the daily UV index and try to avoid the peak UV hours
As a general rule, it’s best to avoid the peak UV times of 10am to 4pm, but this will vary day by day (the amount of UV and the risk hours). Most weather apps provide a daily UV index so you can plan your day accordingly.
If your kids will be out for the day during the peak UV times, stay in the shade and use physical protection such as clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses whenever possible. But that would still leave their face, neck, and hands exposed so it is important to…
Apply a high SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen on exposed skin
The absolute minimum SPF (sun protection factor) you should look for is 30 but ideally, at least 50. The SPF number indicates how long you can stay in the sun without burning. So if your child burns after 15 minutes, then an SPF of 50 means that your child can stay out in the sun 50 times longer with the sunscreen before burning. Just remember to reapply their sunscreen at least every two hours, and after swimming and sweating.
Check the labels on the sunscreen to make sure it provides broad-spectrum protection, which means that it protects against UVA and UVB rays. If it’s not a broad-spectrum sunscreen, then it’s only protecting against UVB.
Should I use a physical or chemical sunscreen?
Physical sunscreens provide a physical barrier with minerals that sit on the surface of the skin. Chemical sunscreens sink into the skin and absorb the UV rays before they can penetrate the skin. Physical sunscreens are less likely to irritate the skin, making them a good option for children. But they aren’t always as water-resistant as chemical sunscreens so they may not be the best option if your kids are at the beach or swimming. So you may want to consider having both options to choose from depending on the day’s activity.
To learn more about UV radiation facts, check out the Skin Cancer Foundation site here.
3. Food Safety
If you or your nanny will be packing food for the kids for their outdoor activities, make sure to choose food items that won’t spoil easily in the heat.
Wash all fruits and vegetables at home first because you may not have access to clean water where you’re going.
Pack food in an insulated cooler. Your cooler should always have at least one-quarter of space for ice packs. You can freeze water bottles and use these as ice packs too. They can do double duty as cold drinking water as the day goes on and the food has been eaten. To avoid cross-contamination, make sure you do not use frozen drinking water bottles as ice packs in any cooler compartments where you’re storing raw meat. It’s best to avoid packing any raw meat even if you’re planning on barbecuing and sticking to pre-cooked items you can reheat on the grill instead.
According to the US Department of Food and Agriculture, don’t leave food sitting outside in the heat because bacteria can double every 20 minutes at temperatures between about 4 – 60 degrees Celcius. And keep your cooler in the shade so it doesn’t heat up faster than you plan for.
4. Preventing Dehydration
Always carry enough water. Kids may not realize when they’re thirsty when they’re busy playing. The more active they are outside, the more water they should drink even if they haven’t been sweating. According to Children’s Health, “a general rule is to take half of your child’s weight (up to 100 pounds) – and that’s the number of ounces of water they should drink every day.” For more tips on how to keep your kids hydrated, click here.
5. Water Safety
Never leave children unattended in a pool or at the beach, even if they can swim. If you or your nanny won’t be joining them in the water and your kids are old enough AND they know how to swim, you should still make sure they are in your line of sight. Tell the kids to stay within a certain distance of the water’s edge.
For younger children, you or your nanny must be with them in the water and they should always be within arm’s reach.
If you’re taking kids out in a canoe, boating, or in a kayak or any other water vehicle, they should wear a life jacket at all times. Click here for more boat and lake safety tips for kids.
Consider signing up for swimming lessons for yourself and your kids if you haven’t already. While knowing how to swim is not a guarantee of water safety, it goes a long way to be able to enjoy fun in the water over your lifetimes.
6. Bike safety
Make sure the kids always wear a properly fitting helmet and to model good habits, you or your nanny should wear one too if you’re joining them for the ride. Teach the kids to stop at every street intersection (including the small garage laneways) to look both ways before crossing and to obey all traffic signs.
Your kids should wear bright coloured clothing (fluorescent shades of yellow, orange and pink are easily spotted) and use lights and reflective strips on their bikes and helmets when it isn’t bright outside.
Stick to dedicated bike paths whenever you can and make sure you bring your phone with you in case you need to call for help. Kids should ride on the sidewalk if there is one, and if not, ride in the same direction of traffic, sticking tightly to the right-hand side of the road. Ride single-file, sticking to your lane, and stay close together.
Teach your kids these 3 basic hand signals to alert drivers of left and right turns and when stopping or slowing down.
It may feel a little overwhelming to worry about outdoor safety, but with a little knowledge of how to prevent these common outdoor risks, you and your kids can have a fun-filled summer with peace of mind.
Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash
