Healthy Habits for a Joyful Summer
Keep your child safe and happy this summer by encouraging hydration, sun protection, and safe outdoor play. Emphasize rest, supervise water activities, and teach road safety. Equip them with insect repellent for added protection, ensuring a joyful and worry-free summer experience.
Stay Hydrated:
During hot summer days, it’s crucial for kids to stay hydrated. Encourage them to drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially if they are engaged in outdoor activities.
- Encourage regular water intake.
- Provide reusable water bottles for easy access.
- Include hydrating snacks like watermelon in their diet.
Apply Sunscreen:
Protect your child’s skin from harmful UV rays by applying sunscreen with a high SPF before they go outside. Make sure to reapply every few hours, especially after swimming or sweating.
- Use sunscreen with at least SPF 30.
- Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before sun exposure.
- Reapply after swimming or excessive sweating.
Wear Protective Clothing:
Dress your child in lightweight, light-colored clothing that covers their skin. Add a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses for additional protection from the sun.
- Choose clothing with loose weaves for breathability.
- Opt for long sleeves and pants for sun protection.
- Ensure sunglasses have UV protection.
Be Aware of Heat Safety:
Teach your kids about the dangers of heat-related illnesses. Encourage them to take breaks in the shade, especially during peak sunlight hours, and be cautious of signs of overheating.
- Take breaks in the shade during outdoor activities.
- Recognize signs of heat-related illnesses like dizziness or nausea.
- Plan outdoor activities during cooler parts of the day.
Practice Water Safety:
If your child is swimming, ensure they are supervised at all times. Teach them basic water safety rules and make sure they wear appropriate flotation devices if needed.
- Supervise children around water at all times.
- Teach basic water safety rules, such as no running by the pool.
- Use appropriate flotation devices if necessary.
Stay Insect-Repellent Smart:
Protect your child from insect bites by using child-friendly insect repellent. Dress them in long sleeves and pants, especially during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Use insect repellent with child-safe formulations.
- Dress in long sleeves and pants during dawn and dusk.
- Keep doors and windows screened to prevent mosquitoes.
Stay Educated on Plant Safety:
Teach your child to recognize and avoid poisonous plants. Ensure they understand the importance of not touching or ingesting unfamiliar plants.
- Teach children to recognize and avoid poisonous plants.
- Emphasize the importance of not touching or ingesting unfamiliar plants.
- Be aware of common poisonous plants in your area.
Stay Active Safely:
Encourage physical activity but ensure it is done safely. Provide protective gear for activities like biking and skateboarding, and establish rules for safe play.
- Encourage physical activity in safe environments.
- Provide protective gear for activities like biking and skateboarding.
- Establish and enforce rules for safe play.
Safety for babies which are under 6 months:
The two main advices from the AAP to avoid suntan are to avoid sun contact, and to dress infants in lightweight long pants, long-sleeved light colored shirts, and brimmed caps that could shade the neck to avoid suntan. However, when sufficient clothing and shades are not obtainable, parents can apply a minimum amount of sunscreen with at least 15 SPF (sun protection factor) to small areas, such as on the infant’s face and the back side of the hands. If an infant gets suntan, apply cool squeezes to the affected surface.
Safety for all other children:
- The best, line of protection against injurious ultraviolet radiation (UVR) disclosure is covering up. Stay in the shadow whenever potential, and limit sun contact during the peak heat hours – between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
- Try to wear a hat with a three-inch side edge or a bill forward facing, sunglasses and clothing with a stretched knit.
- Try to use a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or better that defends against UVA and UVB rays on both sunny and cloudy days.
- Make sure to apply enough sunscreen which is near about one ounce per sitting for young children.
- Re applies of sunscreens every two hours, or after swimming or sweating in a day would be safe for your children.
- Follow the extra carefulness near water and sand as they could reflect UV rays and as a result in suntan more rapidly.
Heat pressure in child
Infants as well as small children are not able to control their body temperature in the same way that adults can do. Each and every year children die from heat stroke from being left in a hot car, often accidentally, with the greater part of these deaths happening in kids 3 or under.