If you ask the average person what summer means to them, they'll tell you about sunny weather, lazy days at the beach, and vacations with the family. If you ask a pediatrician, we'll tell you about the boy who broke an arm while jumping off a dresser doing his best Superman impression, the girl who burned her thigh while making a cup of noodles for lunch, or the siblings who were competing to see who could swallow the biggest coin (all real cases by the way). All over the country, schools are closing or transitioning to virtual classes for the remainder of the school year. In keeping with what’s common for this time of year, accidental injuries are on the rise. After I saw another lunch time meal prep burn in the office last week, I figured that now was a good time to offer a refresher for summertime safety tips.
If you haven’t done so in a while, do a childproof checkup. Even on your best day, as a parent, it’s still really hard – and sometimes, despite even the best efforts, accidents can happen. But do your best to mitigate risk. Luck can’t be a strategy.
Instead, take the time to look around your house now to see whether there are any holes in your safety strategy.
Is the pool in your backyard secured?
Is your TV securely attached to its stand?
Have the bullets been removed from the firearms in the house and are they locked away?
Do your windows and doors have safety guards?
Have you checked the batteries on your fire alarm and carbon monoxide detectors?
It’s about minimizing the exposure to potential risk.
Store cleaning supplies carefully. Hand sanitizers pose an especially high risk to children right now because people are using them more often. Though some hand sanitizers may smell like candy, most contain at least 60 percent alcohol, potentially causing serious injury or even death if a child drinks it. Hand sanitizer should be kept out of reach of young children in a locked cabinet when not in use. The same goes for all cleaning supplies, which also contain chemicals that can cause severe illness or death if ingested.
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