Summer is nearly here! As parents, we try any way we can to get kids to go outside, move, breathe fresh air and use their imagination. If you love the water, you may get a backyard pool. You might build a swing set or playground for play and exercise. At night, a backyard fire pit is always a magnet especially if a s’more and storytelling are involved.
At Bay Street Pediatrics, we know the best way to enjoy summer is to enjoy it safely. Start with the basics of encouraging kids to drink water frequently, wear proper clothing and apply sunscreen amply every few hours. No matter what the games are, cooling breaks are important. Depending upon your backyard, we have additional safety protocols to keep your kids healthy and well.
Pools
If you’ve invested in a backyard pool, you likely enjoy being in and around pools and so have experience with and respect for pool safety, but not everyone in your backyard will have that same pool safety knowledge. There are two basic categories for pool safety: safe equipment and safe swimmers.
The safest backyard pools have multiple, redundant barriers to access. The American Red Cross recommends completely isolating four-side fencing, with self-closing and self-latching gates. Four-sided fencing reduces child drowning risk by 83% over a three-sided fence. Strengthen this barrier by installing alarms on any doors or windows with pool-side access, and locking pool covers. Remove, lift, and securely store or lock stairs, ladders or any other means of getting into an above-ground pool. Any drains or grates should have safety covers and release systems.
An adult should be present anytime – every single minute – a child is playing in or around water, no matter how shallow. Kiddie pools should be filled with adult supervision and emptied immediately when play is finished. Store the pool out of reach of children.
The safest backyard pools are only as safe as the people enjoying them. Establish and enforce safety rules in your backyard and practice and model safe swimming habits for your kids. Enroll your child in water safety or swimming lessons so they can get into the water, stay afloat, get breath, swim, and exit the water safely. Be aware that these lessons do not prevent drowning, especially with small children. Children and inexperienced or weak swimmers should never be left unsupervised in or around the pool. Always have a designated adult watcher with eyes on the pool – not on a book or phone. Keep inexperienced swimmers and young children within your arm’s reach at all times.
Trampolines
You might prevent your child from bouncing off the walls by giving them a place to bounce in the backyard. Unfortunately, trampolines account for around 80,000 reported injuries every year and nearly one-third of those injuries require surgical repair. Injury numbers are so overwhelming that many home insurance policies will not cover trampoline accidents. If your family does choose a trampoline, prevent injuries with safe use. Install a safety net according to directions around the trampoline to cut the risk of fractures in half. Decrease risk further by keeping the area around, under, and above the trampoline free and clear of any objects or overhangs.
Enforce clear safety rules to ensure that only one child jumps at a time as trampolines become significantly more dangerous when multiple people jump together. Unpredictable direction changes and significant differences in jumper weight can lead to serious concussions and fractures.
Home play equipment
The Us Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that home play equipment incidents account for around 50,000 child ER visits each year. Make sure your backyard playground is properly installed and properly used. Children should climb equipment where it’s meant to be climbed, not outside of or on top of the equipment. Train children to be observant of and avoid moving swings, bars and seats. Avoid ropes entirely on play equipment.
Pay special attention to the surface underneath your play equipment. Experts recommend – and your city or home insurance may require – impact-absorbent materials such as a thick layer of mulch or foam tiles underneath playground structures. Around 80% of all playground accidents are falls, and these materials blunt the impact of falls.
Check equipment regularly for loose, rusting or protruding hardware.
Fire Pits
While pools, trampolines and swing sets get your kids out during the day, your family may use a fire pit to get the kids to hang out with you at night. The US Fire Administration recommends you maintain a 3-foot safe zone around your grills, and we recommend that for fire pits as well.
Your fire pit should be at least ten feet away from any other structures. Set up on grass, concrete or other fire-safe materials, never wood or other flammable surfaces. Fires should never be left unattended and an adult should be present whenever a child is near the fire. Use metal screens over your fire pit to keep sparks and embers from floating off and causing damage.
We’ve waited months for warm weather, so let’s keeping it fun by keeping it safe! If you have questions about summer safety or your child’s health, send your Bay Street Pediatrics provider a message through your patient portal. We will be happy to help!