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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.
Hey guys! It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy. My name is Alysia Montaño and I am an Olympic runner proudly representing Team USA. As summer approaches, I just wanted to give you guys a couple of tips on keeping your family safe this summer.
By the age of 12, I had experienced being caught in rip currents on two different occasions. Both incidents occurred in the presence of others, in front of a lifeguard stand, and under a yellow flag (signaling moderately rough currents).
Despite my swimming skill and prior knowledge of what to do in this situation, when faced with the reality of a rip current, all my intuition went straight out the window, and I was overcome with anxiety and panic. It was only through the swift intervention of the lifeguards that I escaped the rip tide and was brought to safety.
Just Because Children Can Swim in a Pool Doesn’t Mean They’re Safe in Lakes, Rivers and Oceans
Washington, D.C. (May 22, 2018) – As summer swimming season kicks off this Memorial Day weekend, Safe Kids Worldwide and Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen program are releasing a new report highlighting the danger of childhood drowning, with a specific focus on incidents that occur in lakes, rivers, oceans and other types of open water.
Key findings of the research include:
While perusing the local newspaper during family breakfast last weekend, a headline caught my attention. A teenager had drowned while swimming in a quarry not far from where I live. As soon as I read the headline, and saw the large photograph of the quarry emblazoned across the front page, my heart sank. I knew of the quarry, having been there myself several times before. The swimming hole is a popular destination for local youth, and it shook me to imagine something so tragic happening in a place where I’d once had so much fun.
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer season, and many families will soon be heading to the beach. Sadly, it’s also the time when many children drown: An estimated 1,000 children fatally drowned in a single year in the U.S., most of them between May and August. In addition, more than 7,000 children are taken to the Emergency Room each year because of a drowning scare.
Drowning Happens Fast, and No Single Prevention Strategy Is Enough. Safe Kids Emphasizes ‘Layers of Protection’
With the calendar flipping to September, it’s just about time to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall. But before we watch the leaves turn and see stores offer pumpkin spice everything, we still get to celebrate Labor Day weekend! Here are a few tips to help you and your family have a safe and fun holiday weekend.
Check out the children's products recalled and what you should do about them.
While drowning in swimming pools gets significant attention, the fact is that more children and teens fatally drown in lakes, rivers, oceans, reservoirs and other types of open water. It’s important to be aware of, and talk to your children about, the following open water dangers: