Summer Safety for Kids
When the Heat Rises, So Do the Risks: Summer Safety for Kids
By Dr. Sadiqa Kendi
I can imagine the fear when a 4-year-old seemingly vanished from a family picnic.
Guests immediately spread out to search for her, the family later recounted in the emergency department. Even though there was a pond within walking distance, they avoided looking there at first — surely the little girl wouldn’t have wandered that far unnoticed and besides, she was afraid of water. But after failing to find her elsewhere, they turned to the pond.
That’s where they’d found her.
A family member who knew CPR had administered it right away, and because of this, the child would survive.
Now they wondered: How had a child so afraid of water that she’d cried at the mention of swim lessons ended up there?
As a pediatric emergency physician, I have heard parents and caregivers say so many times that their child’s injuries were a result of something completely out of character for them.
Part of the beauty of children as they grow is their ability to change and surprise us. But this also means that we must stay vigilant and plan for risks in advance.
As we enter the summer months, this is especially important. I love this time of year — there is a sense of freedom and adventure. But summertime also comes with an increased risk of injury.
Forty-one percent of all fatal unintentional injuries among children occur between May and August, a period that health care professionals call summer trauma season.
As a mom, I know it’s impossible to keep an eye on our kids 24/7, particularly a child who is mobile and active. I’ve spent my career treating kids in emergency departments and working in childhood injury prevention, and yet my kids’ stealth and ingenuity still surprise me!
Risk is always a reality, but taking precautions and planning ahead — buckling up every ride, every time, identifying a water watcher for kids in and near water, wearing properly fitted safety gear, doing a walk-through of that vacation rental or family member’s home you’re visiting — can go a long way toward keeping kids safe.
For lots of other great safety tips, including the My High Five Child Safety Checklists, visit www.safekids.org/safe-kids-month.
Sadiqa Kendi, MD, MPH, is Chief Medical Officer for Safe Kids Worldwide and Associate Division Chief of Academic Affairs and Research for the Division of Emergency Medicine at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
