When your kids are small, there are all kinds of threats to their safety all around them. While you can mitigate these risks while your kids are within your home, once they step outside your door, you need to rely on what you’ve previously taught them in order to keep them safe.
To help ensure that your kids are safe at all times, even when they’re not with you at home, here are three ways you can protect your kids from getting hurt when they’re outside.
Teach Them Alertness
One of the best ways for your kids to stay safe when they’re outside and away from home is to remain alert and aware of what’s going on around them. Without this, your kids could get themselves into all kinds of dangerous situations without even really realizing what’s happening.
According to Amanda Knowles, a contributor to SafeKids.org, you should teach your kids to be especially alert when they’re near moving vehicles so they don’t get hit by a car. This means that your kids should put down their phones and avoid other distractions when they’re walking to school or around your neighborhood. By doing this, your kids will be able to see any danger coming from far enough ahead of them that they can hopefully make different choices that will keep them safe.
Water Safety
Water is one of the biggest dangers that kids are around on a pretty regular basis. And while playing in water can be fun for your kids, if they aren’t careful and if you’re not paying attention while they’re near water, it can be incredibly easy for them to drown. In fact, according to Dawne Gardner, a contributor to Cincinnati Children’s, drowning is the leading cause of death in children under the age of four.
If you plan on being around water with your kids, make sure you are always within arms reach of your young children and that you’re always supervising any of your children the entire time that they’re in the water, regardless of what their ages or swimming abilities are. You may also want to look at getting some childrens wetsuits as this can help protect your children from becoming too cold whilst they are in the water.
When you take your kids to swimming pools for a fun day out, ensuring that some of the safety guidelines are followed at the pool could allow you to take them there without having to worry about their safety. While safety measures followed by the people running the pool are not up to you to decide, you can definitely make the decision of taking your kids to a safe place. Enquire whether the pool you are going to has safety measures in place and whether they perform regular pool barrier checks for the pool fences. You are sure to find pools in the neighbourhood that are safe for kids and that take extra precaution to ensure it remains that way.
Avoiding Heat-Related Illness And Injury
With summer coming, it’s worth mentioning that simply being outside in the sun can be dangerous for your kids.
According to Lisa Freedman, a contributor to Parents.com, some of the best ways to protect your kids from heat-related illnesses and injuries include always wearing sunscreen when they go outside, ensuring that they’re drinking enough water when out in the heat, and avoiding being outside during the hottest parts of the day.
If you plan to have your kids spending any considerable amount of time outside, either on their own or with adult supervision, make sure they know and understand the dangers mentioned above to how to best avoid injury from them.
