ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With kids out of school, that means summer is in full swing. From the beaches to the backyard, there are a few things doctors want you to keep in mind to help kids from getting hurt.
Kids laughing and water splashing make up the soundtrack to summer.
"Day one, but we keep ticking. Got to keep the activities rolling,” said Katie Remer, a mother of three.
With all the options to keep kids occupied during those long summer days comes a lot of responsibility to keep them safe.
"We like to keep our kids in the sun shirts, so they can protect their skin, and we don't have to put so much sunscreen on them,” said Jessica Mackey, a mother of two. “It keeps them safe during the summer from the sun.”
Johns Hopkins Medicine experts came up with a list of things they would always do to help prevent summer injuries.
Among them are making sure an adult is driving a golf cart when kids are riding, avoiding letting their kid play on a trampoline, having a water watcher when swimming with children, and having kids wear a helmet on a bike or scooter.
“It’s the ‘I took my eyes off them for just a second’ or ‘just this one time’ that a lot of times ends in the emergency department, so it is important to wear that helmet every single time, to not leave the kids by the pool or by water for even a minute. It is so important just to make sure that they’re staying safe when possible,” said Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Martin said one of the most common things that they see is submersion injuries, so they highly recommend water safety.
Parents should also remember Florida is called the Sunshine State for a reason.
"Especially during that time of day between 10 a.m. and about 3 p.m. when that sun is so bright, kids can get sunburned after even just a couple of minutes, so making sure that their entire body is just covered in sunscreen,” said Martin. “Wearing sun shirts is also helpful just to reduce the risk of that sunscreen wearing off and not being able to reapply soon enough.”
