Child Safety Tips: 10 Things You Can Do In 10 Minutes Or Less To Make Your Home Safer

These child safety tips can all make your home safer in 10 minutes or less.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, parents, I hope you’re wearing running shoes because you’re about to get a child safety themed workout.
I’ve compiled a minute by minute workout schedule that will turn you into a lean, mean, child injury prevention machine. You should be able to do execute each of these child safety tips in 10 minutes or less…
On your mark.  Get set.  Go!

1. Child Chemical Safety

Let’s start out in the kitchen.  Look around to make sure all household chemicals are not accessible to children.
You might not realize it, but to children, these chemicals look similar to their favorite fruit drinks, so your child might not understand that blue window cleaner isn’t blue-raspberry Kool-aid. To prevent a case of mistaken identity, put hazardous materials on higher shelves, not close to your food, of course.
If you can’t store your cleaning products anywhere else but near floor level, lock your cupboard doors tight with a child proof lock.

2. Child Climbing Safety

While you’re still in the kitchen, start looking for opportunities your child might have to climb to unsafe heights. Reposition any climbable pieces of furniture to deter children from using them as ladders to your kitchen counter.
Your kids probably love sweets so keep those goodies in a locked pantry or in a locked shelf lower than counter height.  That way your kids don’t have to climb anything to find out they don’t have access to their tasty temptations.

3. Child Hot Water Safety

Still with me? If so, you’re doing great!  But now it’s time for a bit of a run.
Head to your basement or wherever your hot water heater is located.  Read the temperature setting. If your hot water heater is set to anything above 120-125 degrees fahrenheit or above medium, it’s too hot.
According to the National Ag Safety Database, it only takes takes two seconds for a child to receive third degree burns from water at 150 degrees, five seconds if the water is at 140 degrees and 30 seconds at 130 degrees.
Turning the water heater down to a proper setting should be easy to do, but if you can’t figure it out, call a trusted friend or plumber.

4. Child Sharp Object Safety

While you’re in the basement, grab an empty bottle of laundry detergent, tear the labels off and write “SHARPS” or “DANGER” on both sides.
You now have your own container for proper disposal of sharp objects.
Whatever it may be, sewing needles, thumb tacks, nails, if you don’t have a place for it, put it in the sharps container.  This is a method medical professionals use to dispose of hazardous sharp objects, so it’s child safety expert and doctor approved.
Store the sharps container in a secure, child safe location and get ready to move!

5. Child Electrical Safety

It’s time for an electrical outlet check.
Head back up the stairs and through your house to each individual outlet to make sure they all have child proof covers.
Children are more likely to tamper with your electrical outlets than you might think.  The National Electrical Manufacturers Association estimates that an average of seven children per day are treated in emergency rooms for injuries due to electrical outlet contact.
Child safety covers prevent unnecessary child injury by keeping kids from sticking their fingers and metallic objects in electrical outlets. Until your children are old enough to know better, keep all the outlets in your home covered.

6. Child Suffocation Safety

Did you see any plastic bags lying out in the open during your last lap around the house?  If you did and you didn’t pick them up, well, looks like it’s another lap for you.
Kids who like to play make believe can see colorful, plastic grocery bags as masks that can turn them into astronauts and monsters, but these bags can easily suffocate your child.
Gather all your plastic bags together and store them in a safe, secure place like the now locked cabinet you keep your household chemicals in.

7. Child Shelf Safety

If you are one of those reading types who hasn’t replaced their paperbacks and hardcovers with e-books, there are probably bookshelves around your house.
Although your children may be learning to read, they see bookshelves more as ladders than “knowledge storage devices.”  The CPSC estimates that in 2006, more than 16,000 children five years old and younger were treated in emergency rooms due to furniture and appliance tipovers.
Secure bookshelves, and all other shelving units in your home, to walls so there is no chance of them falling over when your child decides he’s the next Indiana Jones.

8. Child Padding Safety

Alright, now do another lap around your house, this time looking for sharp corners and edges on furniture and walls.
More than likely, there are more edges and corners that could use padding than you can do in under ten minutes, but make a note of their locations.
There are a number of different manufacturers who specialize in making child safe edging for furniture and walls.  If you don’t want to pay $15 a foot, though, use foam pipe edging and clear tape.  It works just as well at a fraction of the cost.

9. Child Window Safety

Windows always spell trouble for children.
Windows with blinds usually mean low hanging cords that kids like to play with.  These cords are choking hazards so secure them at a higher altitude by coiling them up with a rubber band or piece of string.
Push all chairs and other pieces of climbable furniture away from windows so that children have less access to them.
And if you like keeping your windows open and haven’t invested in some child safe window guards, you need to install them soon.

10. Child Refrigerator Safety

It’s the home stretch!  Get to your refrigerator.
If you have small magnets on the fridge, either take them off or move them higher and out of reach.  Your child can easily pluck the magnets off the fridge and put them in their mouths.
Also, open your refrigerator door and determine if the seal is strong enough to keep a child from opening it.  If it’s not, add a latch system to the door for extra security.

11. Relax

I ended the workout in front of your refrigerator on purpose.  Open it up and grab something cold to drink or stick your head in the freezer to cool off.
You’re looking buff and now your home is now child safety expert approved.
Have anything you’d like to add?  Leave a comment and let me know.
———
Ken Levinson is a Chicago-based child injury attorney and child safety advocate. If your child has been injured or worse, please call Ken Levinson at Joseph, Lichtenstein and Levinson at 312-346-9270 or e-mail ken@thesafestline.com. Although based in Chicago, Ken works on child injury cases across the country.

Should I turn him around or not? that is the question

Lets talk about car seats, yes you should leave those kiddos rear facing as long as possible, recommended up to 2 yrs old now. Read your car seat's recommendations and refer to your vehicle's owners manual always for installation guidance. Arrive alive! and make your ER nurse's happy!

Parents Shouldn’t Ignore Changes in Car Seat Recommendations

Great advice from "The Kid's Doctor" website and Twitter page
by Sue Hubbard, M.DI have been surprised at the number of parents I have seen lately, who are either unaware or choose to ignore the changes in car seat recommendations for children under the age of two. I try to discuss car seat safety at each check-up appointment, and have always been especially mindful of doing this at the one-year check up.
Previous to the newest recommendations (established in 2009), I had discussed turning the car seat to a forward facing position if the child had reached 12 months and 20 pounds. Then in April, an article was published (Inj Prev. 2007;13:398-402), which was the first U.S. data to substantiate the benefits of toddlers riding rear facing until they are two years of age. This study showed that children under the age of two are 75 percent less likely to die or experience a serious injury when they are riding in a rear-facing. That is a fairly compelling statistic to keep that car seat rear-facing for another year!
Studies have shown that rear-facing seats are more likely to support the back, neck, head and pelvis because the force of a crash is distributed evenly over the entire body. Toddlers between the ages of 12 and 23 months who ride rear facing are more than five times safer than toddlers in that same age group who ride forward-facing in a car seat. There has also been concern that rear-facing toddlers whose feet reach the back of the seat are more likely to suffer injuries to the lower extremities in a car accident. But a commentary written by Dr. Marilyn Bull in Pediatrics (2008;121:619-620) dispelled the myth with documentation that lower extremity injuries were rare with rear-facing seats.
So, it has now been over one year since this data was published and recommended, and parents continue to say, “I just turned the seat around any way” or “I didn’t know.” I did go look at car-seats the other day and I noted that the labeling on the boxes had all been changed to recommend rear facing until two years or until a toddler reaches the maximum height and weight recommendations for the model. I take this to mean that some “small” toddlers could even rear face longer as they do in some European countries.
For safety sake, rather than convenience, keep that car seat in the rear facing position. I wonder if they will begin putting DVD players and cup holders facing toward these toddlers, as that seemed to be a concern of many parents. Maybe this will make it “okay” to listen to music or talk while in the car rather than watching TV, at least until a child is older!!
 

If you need references on car seats go to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov or http://www.seatcheck.org. http://www.buckleupnc.org/ (for NC)  http://www.safekids.org/
Drive and Live Safe!!

Here is a clue for you: Don't drive, if you can't walk or stand up!

It amazes me the people to try to drive any vehicle after drinking alcohol, taking prescription medications that are sedating or illicit drugs that are illegal to begin with. How can you think you can drive if you can't walk or stand up. Just like the dangers of drinking and driving, drugged driving is a serious problem on the rise. Prescription drug abuse is at epidemic levels, people seem to find happiness (or not) in a little bottle of pills instead of dealing with real life. My husband and I witnessed a very drugged driver the other night on the way home from the store, he was driving a box truck and could hardly keep the truck on the road. We began following him on the interstate and watched in horror as he swerved from side to side, almost took out the exit sign and got off the exit. As we called *HP several times to ask for assistance we began to follow him, he turned off onto a local highway that was very curvy. The truck went from one side of the road to the other shoulder, we watched him nearly turn the truck over several times and almost hit 4 cars head on. We both knew we had to do something or he is going to kill himself or somebody else, we prayed that he would pull over or stall the truck. Then he slowed down and pulled into a local gas station and my husband took the opportunity to pull in beside him so he could not back out. He approached the truck and asked him to turn off the truck and surrender his keys. He noted the man was very intoxicated with something, either alcohol or drugs. With some help stopping the truck's engine the man was cooperative and gave up his keys, telling us he took some "medicine and drank some beer". We waited until the highway patrol, sheriff's dept and EMS got there to take care of him. I am really not sure how he was driving at all, he could barely talk or walk. He had just came from work he said. Sad,he has lost that job now, it was a work truck he was driving.
So to further educate those out there in blog land that might read this, info on drugged driving and to follow will be more info on some most commonly used drugs that can kill and be abused.Because I would much rather see you alive than dead in some box! And I want to keep my family safe!!

What Is Drugged Driving?  From the NIDA website Here

“Have one [drink] for the road” was once a commonly used phrase in American culture. It has only been within the past 25 years that as a Nation, we have begun to recognize the dangers associated with drunk driving. And through a multipronged and concerted effort involving many stakeholders—including educators, media, legislators, law enforcement, and community organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving—the Nation has seen a decline in the numbers of people killed or injured as a result of drunk driving. But it is now time that we recognize and address the similar dangers that can occur with drugged driving.

The principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one’s motor skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk but also passengers and others who share the road.

However, despite the knowledge about a drug’s potentially lethal effects on driving performance and other concerns that have been acknowledged by some public health officials, policy officials, and constituent groups, drugged driving laws have lagged behind alcohol-related driving legislation, in part because of limitations in the current technology for determining drug levels and resulting impairment. For alcohol, detection of its blood concentration (BAC) is relatively simple, and concentrations greater than 0.08 percent have been shown to impair driving performance; thus, 0.08 percent is the legal limit in this country. But for illicit drugs, there is no agreed-upon limit for which impairment has been reliably demonstrated. Furthermore, determining current drug levels can be difficult, since some drugs linger in the body for a period of days or weeks after initial ingestion.

Some States (Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) have passed “per se” laws, in which it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle if there is any detectable level of a prohibited drug, or its metabolites, in the driver’s blood. Other State laws define “drugged driving” as driving when a drug “renders the driver incapable of driving safely” or “causes the driver to be impaired.”

In addition, 44 States and the District of Columbia have implemented Drug Evaluation and Classification Programs, designed to train police officers as Drug Recognition Experts. Officers learn to detect characteristics in a person’s behavior and appearance that may be associated with drug intoxication. If the officer suspects drug intoxication, a blood or urine sample is submitted to a laboratory for confirmation.

How Many People Take Drugs and Drive?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2007 National Roadside Survey, more than 16 percent of weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter medications. More than 11 percent tested positive for illicit drugs.¹ Another NHTSA study found that in 2009, among fatally injured drivers, 18 percent tested positive for at least one drug (e.g., illicit, prescription, or over-the-counter), an increase from 13 percent in 2005.² Together, these indicators are a sign that continued substance abuse education, prevention, and law enforcement efforts are critical to public health and safety.

According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 10.5 million people aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the year prior to being surveyed.³ This corresponds to 4.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older, similar to the rate in 2008 (4 percent) and not significantly different from the rate in 2002 (4.7 percent). In 2009, the rate was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (12.8 percent). In addition, NSDUH reported the following:

• In 2009, an estimated 12 percent of persons aged 12 or older (30.2 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. This percentage has dropped since 2002, when it was 14.2 percent.
  
• Driving under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol was associated with age. In 2009, an estimated 6.3 percent of youth aged 16 or 17 drove under the influence. This percentage steadily increased with age to reach a peak of 24.8 percent among young adults aged 21 to 25. Beyond the age of 25, these rates showed a general decline with increasing age.
  
• Also in 2009, among persons aged 12 or older, males were more likely than females (16.9 percent versus 9.2 percent, respectively) to drive under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol in the past year.
  

In recent years, more attention has been given to drugs other than alcohol that have increasingly been recognized as hazards to road traffic safety. Some of this research has been done in other countries or in specific regions within the United States, and the prevalence rates for different drugs used vary accordingly. Overall, marijuana is the most prevalent illegal drug detected in impaired drivers, fatally injured drivers, and motor vehicle crash victims. Other drugs also implicated include benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates, and amphetamines.4
A number of studies have examined illicit drug use in drivers involved in motor vehicle crashes, reckless driving, or fatal accidents. For example—

• One study found that about 34 percent of motor vehicle crash victims admitted to a Maryland trauma center tested positive for “drugs only;” about 16 percent tested positive for “alcohol only.” Approximately 9.9 percent (or 1 in 10) tested positive for alcohol and drugs, and within this group, 50 percent were younger than age 18.5 Although it is interesting that more people in this study tested positive for “drugs only” compared with “alcohol only,” it should be noted that this represents one geographic location, so findings cannot be generalized. In fact, the majority of studies among similar populations have found higher prevalence rates of alcohol use compared with drug use.6
  
• Studies conducted in several localities have found that approximately 4 to 14 percent of drivers who sustained injury or died in traffic accidents tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana.7
  
• In a large study of almost 3,400 fatally injured drivers from three Australian states (Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia) between 1990 and 1999, drugs other than alcohol were present in 26.7 percent of the cases.8 These included cannabis (13.5 percent), opioids (4.9 percent), stimulants (4.1 percent), benzodiazepines (4.1 percent), and other psychotropic drugs (2.7 percent). Almost 10 percent of the cases involved both alcohol and other drugs.

Teens and Drugged Driving

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among young people aged 16 to 19.9 It is generally accepted that because teens are the least experienced drivers as a group, they have a higher risk of being involved in an accident compared with more experienced drivers. When this lack of experience is combined with the use of marijuana or other substances that impact cognitive and motor abilities, the results can be tragic.

Results from NIDA’s Monitoring the Future survey indicate that in 2007, more than 12 percent of high school seniors admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana in the 2 weeks prior to the survey.10

The 2007 State of Maryland Adolescent Survey indicates that 11.1 percent of the State’s licensed adolescent drivers reported driving under the influence of marijuana on three or more occasions, and 10 percent reported driving while using a drug other than marijuana (not including alcohol).11

Why is Drugged Driving Hazardous?

Drugs acting on the brain can alter perception, cognition, attention, balance, coordination, reaction time, and other faculties required for safe driving. The effects of specific drugs of abuse differ depending on their mechanisms of action, the amount consumed, the history of the user, and other factors.

Marijuana
THC affects areas of the brain that control the body’s movements, balance, coordination, memory, and judgment, as well as sensations. Because these effects are multifaceted, more research is required to understand marijuana’s impact on the ability of drivers to react to complex and unpredictable situations. However, we do know that—

• A meta-analysis of approximately 60 experimental studies—including laboratory, driving simulator, and on-road experiments—found that behavioral and cognitive skills related to driving performance were impaired in a dose-dependent fashion with increasing THC blood levels.12
  
• Evidence from both real and simulated driving studies indicates that marijuana can negatively affect a driver’s attentiveness, perception of time and speed, and ability to draw on information obtained from past experiences.
  
• A study of over 3,000 fatally injured drivers in Australia showed that when marijuana was present in the blood of the driver, he or she was much more likely to be at fault for the accident. Additionally, the higher the THC concentration, the more likely the driver was to be culpable.13
  
• Research shows that impairment increases significantly when marijuana use is combined with alcohol.14 Studies have found that many drivers who test positive for alcohol also test positive for THC, making it clear that drinking and drugged driving are often linked behaviors.
  

Other Drugs
Prescription drugs: Many medications (e.g., benzodiazepines and opiate analgesics) act on systems in the brain that could impair driving ability. In fact, many prescription drugs come with warnings against the operation of machinery—including motor vehicles—for a specified period of time after use. When prescription drugs are taken without medical supervision (i.e., when abused), impaired driving and other harmful reactions can also result. In short, drugged driving is a dangerous activity that puts us all at risk.
Credits also found here

Cooking Safety

Cooking brings family and friends together, provides an outlet for creativity and can be relaxing. But did you know that cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries? By following a few safety tips you can prevent these fires.

 >>Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop.

>>Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

>> If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.

 >>Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging    towels or curtains — away from your stovetop. 

If You Have A Cooking Fire...

 >>Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.

 >>Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave.

 >>If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.

 >>Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.

 >>For an oven fire turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

  

Cooking and Kids
Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

Find great information about fire safety www.NFPA.com/education 

Print this pdf about Cooking safety Here 

Please have a safe and happy holiday

Thanksgiving Safety Tips from Safe Kids USA

Thanksgiving is the time of year when family and friends gather together to enjoy a tasty meal and to celebrate the good things in our lives. Don't let a dangerous kitchen fire spoil such a happy occasion!
Did you know that cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the United States? On average, there are almost three times more cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day than on any other day. Moreover, Thanksgiving Day fires in residential structures cause more property damage and claim more lives than residential structure fires on other days.  
Follow some simple safety tips to protect your family and your home.

 

 Top Kitchen Safety Tips

Preventing cooking fires

• Never leave hot food or appliances unattended while cooking.

• Always be alert when you are cooking and not under the influence of medication or alcohol.

• Keep anything that can catch on fire at least 3 feet from the stove, toaster oven, or other heat source.

• Keep the stove top, burners, and oven clean.

• Do not wear loose fitting clothes that can catch fire if you stand too close to a burner.

• If you are frying, grilling or broiling food stay in the kitchen.  If you are baking or simmering check food frequently.

Preventing burns and scalds

• To prevent hot food or liquid spills, use the stove’s back burner and/or turn pot handles away from the stove's edge.

• All appliance cords should be kept coiled and away from counter edges.

• Use oven mitts or potholders when moving hot food.

• Open containers that have been in the microwave slowly and away from the face.

• Never use a wet oven mitt, as it presents a scald danger if the moisture in the mitt is heated.

Keeping Kids Safe

• Create a 3 foot Kid Free Zone around the stove.

• Never hold a child while cooking, drinking, or carrying hot foods or liquids.

• Young children should be more than 3 feet from any place where there is hot food, drinks, pans, or trays.

• Hot items should be kept from the edge of counters and tables.

• Do not use a tablecloth or place mat if very young children are in the home.

• When children are old enough, teach them to cook safely and always with help from an adult.

More information about burns and scalds can be found Here
Fire Prevention Tips found here
Thank you for the great information from the Safekids.org website!

Please stay safe this holiday season!!

 

Image thanks to Christina Richert 

 article re-posted from child safety 101 "theexaminer.com"

Hopefully, if you are the parent of a young child or teen, you have heard of this game before.  If you haven't, you need to familiarize yourself with it and be prepared to talk to your child about its dangers.  Because most kids have heard of it, and many are playing it, sometimes with deadly consequences.
The Choking Game is also known by the names "Black Out" or "Pass Out", is defined by the CDC as "self-strangulation or stangulation by another person with the hands or a noose to achieve a brief euphoric state caused by cerebral hypoxia."  Translation?  Kids, primarily between 9 and 16 years old, are attempting to get a quick high by cutting off the oxygen to their brain for short periods of time.
The danger is that when a person's brain is deprived of oxygen for even short periods of time, brain damage or death can result.  Kids, who often play this game in groups, may never have witnessed any adverse effects, and therefore think the game is safe.  But its not.  According to the Games Children Shouldn't Play (GASP) website, between 250 and 1,000 kids die playing this game each year.
In What is the Choking Game, we examined this scary, potentially deadly game that is "played" by thousands of kids every year.  Awareness is great, but parents also need to know what they can do to prevent their child from falling victim to this trend, and what signs to look for that may indicate that their child is already participating.
Choking Game Prevention
The most important thing parents can do is talk to their kids about this game and it's dangers.  Many parents may be hesitant to do so, fearing that if they bring up the subject, they may be giving kids the "idea" to engage in this practice.  However, according to the Games Adolescents Shouldn't Play (GASP) website, most kids already know about the game anyway.  What they don't know is how deadly it can be. The GASP website has educational materials you can use to talk to kids about this dangerous activity.
Choking Game Warning Signs
The GASP website lists some of the common warning signs that a child may be engaging in The Choking Game:

• Any suspicious mark on the side of the neck, sometimes hidden by a turtleneck, scarf or permanently turned-up collar.
• Changes in personality, such as overtly aggressive or agitated.
• Any kind of strap, rope or belt lying around near the child for no clear reason—and attempts to elude questions about such objects.
• Headaches (sometimes excruciatingly bad ones), loss of concentration, flushed face.
• Bloodshot eyes or any other noticeable signs of eye stress.
• A thud in the bedroom or against a wall—meaning a fall in cases of solitary practice.
• Any questions about the effects, sensations or dangers of strangulation.

If you suspect a child may be engaging in this behavior, let their parents know right away.  Talk to them about the dangers, and refer them to the GASP website for more information.
Please take the time to view this short video about The Choking Game.
Thank you to Susan Carney Child Safety Examiner on the website examiner.com for this article to help us make parents more aware of this dangerous youth risk behavior, the team at Ed4Ed and Gasp want everyone to be more aware and look for all the signs. A complete injury prevention program for any parent or educator is located on our blog at Ed4Ed4All.blogspot.com please visit and educate yourself. You might just save a life that you love.

Safe Boating Week-May 22-28th (Safe Kids)

 Safe Boating Week (May 22-28) 

Hitting the waters is a great family activity during the summer months.  Whether it’s a power boat, a family canoe, or a walk on the dock, the risks are the same.  Anyone on or near the water without a life jacket is at risk for drowning in the event of an accident.  We want you and your family to be safe on the water this year, which is why we are celebrating Safe Boating Week.
If you are driving a boat this summer, we urge you to take a boating education course to refresh on safe boating practices.  Also, you can get a vessel safety check every year for free from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadrons.  For more information, visit www.uscgboating.org and click “get a free safety check.”  

Follow these simple tips to stay safe on the waters:

• Always have your children wear the right size and type life jacket approved by the U.S. Coast Guard while on boats or around open bodies of water or participating in water sports. The life jacket should fit snugly and not allow the child’s chin or ears to slip through the neck opening.

• Actively supervise children in and around open bodies of water, giving them your undivided attention. Appoint a designated “water watcher,” taking turns with other adults.

• Enroll your child in swimming lessons after age 4 – typically the earliest age when they are likely to practice and retain information. Teach children how to tread water, float and stay by the shore.

• Make sure kids swim only in areas designated for swimming.

• Teach children that swimming in open water is not the same as swimming in a pool: they need to be aware of uneven surfaces, river currents, ocean undertow and changing weather.

• Do not let kids operate personal water crafts such as jet skis. These are intended for adults and require special training.

• Teach children not to dive into oceans, lakes or rivers because you never know how deep the water is or what might be hidden under the surface of the water.

These wonderful tips and information came from the Safe Kids site Here

Play safe~~ Leslie