How to Keep Your Young Children Safe This Summer

Sharing is caring!

Summer is finally here! Who am I kidding? It’s summer all year round here in Honolulu! It’s just hotter and the days are longer. We go to the beach every week but we make sure to practice social distancing. This is easy to do now since there’s a significant decrease in the amount of tourists on the island. 

With an active toddler who wants to be outside everyday, we have to be diligent in making sure that he stays safe and healthy while still having fun. As an over-prepared mama, I try to research and keep abreast of news and information to keep our son safe.

Below, I’ve organized them into six categories (or the 6 Ss of Summer Safety as I like to call it!). Here are some important tips to keep your young children safe this summer: 

1. Sun

According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. but it is also one of the most preventable. Protect you and your children from skin cancer and sunburn by wearing sunscreen, protective clothing, and by staying in the shade.

Sun Screen

The AAD recommends that sunscreen should be broad-spectrum, have an SPF for 30 or higher, and be water-resistant. When applying sunscreen, don’t forget the ears, neck, scalp, and your feet that is not covered by shoes or sandals.

Check out the AAD video below on how to properly apply sunscreen:

We’ve been using Banana Boat Simply Protect Sunscreen Lotion Spray because it’s easy to put on a wiggly toddler who wants to jump in the water. You could also use Earth Mama Organics Mineral Sunscreen Lotion. It’s organic and gentle on sensitive skin. Both are reef-friendly which is important for our local marine life. 

Shade

You should also avoid playing in the sun between 10am and 4pm when the sun’s rays are strongest. We usually go to the beach between 4pm-6pm when the sun is setting since sunset is around 730pm. Even if it is cloudy, your child can still get sunburn so make sure to wear sunscreen, hats, covered clothing, and even sunglasses. 

When we spend several hours at the beach, I like to take our WolfWise Popup Beach Tent with us. It is UPF 50+, water repellant, has a lot of ventilation, and can provide full privacy if I want to change or nurse at the beach. 

Proper Hydration

When playing, make sure your child drinks a lot of water and take breaks in the shade to avoid dehydration and heat exhaustion. Learn these signs and symptoms to make sure your child gets the proper care before this happens to them. 

Even if we go to the beach just for an hour, we always pack cold water in our Hydro Flask. We get super thirsty after swimming and it keeps our water cold for several hours. 

Never Leave Children in Cars

Most importantly, never leave children in the car even with the windows cracked open even for a few minutes! According to KidsAndCars.org, an average of 39 children die in a hot car every year. 

Put precautions in place to avoid leaving your child in the car intentionally or unintentionally. Some of these include checking your backseat often, setting reminders for yourself, leaving your purse in the backseat, having a check-in system with someone, and so forth. 

This is one of my greatest fears so I make sure to frequently check the backseat using our Munchkin Car Mirror whenever I go out with my son. I also leave my purse in the back so I have a reason to check the backseat when I leave the car. 

If you are out and see a child left in a car, get them out and call 911. 

2. Swim

Proper Supervision Around Water

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children 1-4 than any other cause except congenital anomalies (birth defects). This can happen in the pool, beach, lake, or even the bathtub. 

This is why it is so important to properly supervise young children around water. Whoever is watching or playing with the children should not be distracted. He or she should be constantly on alert in case the child falls into water. Never leave the child alone with a body of water even for a second.

In Hawaii, there’s a saying that goes “never turn your back on the ocean”.

You never know when a rogue wave will catch you by surprise (this has happened to me many times) so you must respect the force of the ocean, be on your guard, and heed the instruction of lifeguards and surf advisories. Learn to read the signs at the beach about rough currents or jellyfish warning signs. Wear life jackets when out to sea on a boat or kayak. 

At home, make sure your child doesn’t have access to the toilet or bathwater alone. If you have a pool, make sure it is fitted with a fence or other safety measures. 

Swimming and Water Safety Classes

In addition, parents or guardians should learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or at least take a class on water safety or swimming. My husband and I know how to swim and have had a class on infant CPR. We try to teach our son to swim whenever we go out but we’ll also invest in swimming classes when these programs open up again. 

3. Stranger Safety

There have been so many news stories of attempted kidnapping of children nowadays here in Hawaii. Parents.com has a great article to teach kids about stranger safety at different age groups. As a mother, my anxiety has increased but I have safety plans in place to make sure my child is not abducted in any way.

Whenever we’d go out for a quick shopping trip, my son and I would stay in the car with the AC on while my husband shops (or vice versa). Our rule is to make sure to lock all the car doors and close all the windows to prevent anyone from strangers from entering the car. Even if it’s just a quick trip to 7/11, we always lock all our windows and doors. 

When I am out alone or with my son, I make sure to park in high traffic and well-lighted areas to ensure that I can scream for help if something bad happens. 

Since our son is such an active toddler, we recently bought him a Kids Backpack with Safety Leash. We hope to use it to keep him close and prevent him from running into oncoming traffic or get lost in a crowd when we travel. I’ll also keep his identification and information inside his backpack in case of emergencies. 

Child ID Kit and Emergency Cards

Ready.gov has a Child ID Kit that you can use to provide information to law enforcement to quickly help you find your child. We were able to get a free Child ID card for our son at a safety fair at the mall last year. I keep it with our important documents in case of emergencies. 

I’ve also created a FREE In Case of Emergency Card Template that you can use. There are two copies in the template. Print one for your child’s backpack and one for your wallet. Make it waterproof by using these Self-Sealing Laminating Pouches. Download the template below.

Communication and Emergency Plans

When our son grows up, we’re going to make sure to teach him how to keep himself safe. We’re going to keep our lines of communication open to make sure he is comfortable talking to us when people make him uncomfortable or if he gets in a bad situation. We’ll also develop an emergency plan as a family for different scenarios like natural disasters, traveling, getting lost, or car accidents. 

4. Screen

Monitoring Screen Time

For young children, they may not be on tiktok or facebook yet but it’s important to monitor what they are watching or playing on the ipad or computer. Start creating boundaries when they are young so they know what they can and can’t do when they are older and have their own phones and social media accounts.

For my iphone and my son’s ipad, I use Screen Time and Guided Access functions to limit the apps that my son uses. Screen Time limits your child to specific apps, functions, and content. On the other hand, Guided Access limits a user to one specific app. Apple Support has detailed instructions on how you can set up Screen Time and Guided Access on your iphone or ipad. 

We use these functions because we’ve noticed that our son is now familiar with the regular YouTube app and has started watching related videos on stuff like trucks. Even though he is not watching anything inappropriate, I’ve removed this app and added his shows on the YouTube Kids app so he is limited to what I choose for him. This also keeps him from buying things accidentally since there are a lot of ads on the regular YouTube app.

We also try to limit his screen time by playing outside and reading to him but it’s been difficult in these current times when we are mostly stuck at home. Because of this, I try to make sure that most of the apps that he is using are educational. 

Emergency Information

If you have an iphone, you can easily call for help and alert your emergency contacts through Emergency SOS. This is incredibly useful for emergency situations where every second counts.

I’ve also sent our immediate family members our emergency and medical information through the Notes app on my iphone. When my son was under the care of our babysitter, I used the app to share his information in case something happened. I then removed her access when he was no longer under her care. 

It’s important to let your emergency contacts know that they are the first people who will be contacted in an emergency, the information you will be providing to them, and the steps to take. We live far away from most of our immediate family members so we have to depend on our friends to provide information to first responders for us and to our family in case something happens to us. 

5. Sickness

Cold and Flu Prevention

Even though it’s not flu and cold season in the summer, you and your family can still catch this from others who are sick. Encourage your child to eat healthy foods, exercise, and get enough sleep to strengthen their immune system. Avoid people who are sick and teach your child the correct way to wash his or her hands.

Here’s a fun video from the CDC about proper handwashing:

The best method to avoid the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year with you and your family. If you or your child are already sick, make sure to stay at home and rest. Don’t go out and pass it to others. 

Food Poisoning

Summertime means a lot of gatherings with family and friends. Potlucks and BBQs are fun but you should be careful to practice food safety to avoid food poisoning. Some great tips from the CDC include proper food storage, cooking food thoroughly, and keeping food and cooking areas clean. Be on the lookout for the signs and symptoms of food poisoning to know how to treat it at home or when to call the doctor. 

Recreational Water Illness

Your child can get sick from contaminated bodies of water like the beach, hot tubs, and pools. The American Academy of Pediatrics stresses that your child do not drink pool water but this is also relevant for other sources of water like the ocean or streams.

It is also important to shower before and after swimming to remove germs. Moreover, you should cover open wounds with waterproof bandages to prevent infection. 

6. Stings and Scrapes

Emergency Kit

As we spend more time outdoors, we are much more prone to insect bites (and the diseases they carry), scrapes from playing, and allergic reactions. Protect you and your children by keeping insect repellant, aloe vera, first aid kit, and allergy medication on hand. Now is the time to create a mini-emergency kit for when you go out and review the expiration dates on the products you have. 

You can also buy a Portable First Aid Kit that you can keep in your car or bag when you go out and about this summer. 

Safe Play

Keep children safe in the playground by checking if it is too hot or if there are broken pieces that may hurt the child. Supervise them around stairs, trampoline, water, and high places where they can fall. In addition, children should be kept far away from fireworks, grills, and fires. 

If the child is old enough to use bikes or skateboards, make sure they wear protective equipment like helmets and learn bike safety. Proper footwear is important when your child is on wheels but also for other activities like hiking and sports. 

Responding to Emergencies

Parents or guardians should know the signs and symptoms of concussions, marine animal stings, insect bites, burns, and allergic reactions. You must also know how to respond to these emergencies to reduce further injury or infection. I highly encourage you to take classes in first aid and CPR. It will really make a difference when an emergency situation occurs. 

Preparation is Key

The tips above are not exhaustive. There are more areas that are not covered here that may be applicable to your situation. For example, in Hawaii, hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. Preparing your emergency supplies and plans is an important activity to do with your family this summer. 

Do your research. Take summer safety classes with your children to learn more tips. Practice these safety tips with your children and your other family members. The important thing is to be prepared and prevent these situations from happening to keep our young children safe. 

Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list? Comment below to let me know!

Related Articles

• How to Start Preparing Your Emergency Supplies
• My Top 5 Education Apps for Toddlers
• 10 Fun Things to Do When Stuck at Home

Sharing is caring!