A safe holiday means more than just avoiding fireworks
Most people think of fireworks injuries when they think of the
hazards of the Fourth of July. While this is the most common source of
injuries, there are other safety concerns that parents should be aware
of this holiday weekend.
Consider the following tips from Children’s Mercy:
If your family will be near a lake, pool, river or beach, make
sure to constantly supervise your children. It only takes a couple
inches of water and a few minutes for a child to drown. Make sure your
child wears a life jacket if he’s riding in a boat.
Remember to plan some downtime for your children during the day.
Have them come inside to cool off and rest occasionally to avoid heat
exhaustion or sunstroke. Have plenty of water or other liquids
available for them to drink.
Be sure to apply sunscreen to children older than six months. Make
sure it has a sun protection factor of 15 or higher and is water
resistant. Children younger than six months should not be left in the
sun.
Avoid insect bites by applying insect repellent on your children
before the evening fireworks display.
Remember to bring ice or a cooler for perishable foods, like
sliced meats, deviled eggs and potato salads. At 32 degrees, bacteria
doubles every 20 hours. At 90 degrees it doubles every 30 minutes. Keep
perishable foods covered and on ice or in a cooler. Perishable foods
that have been at room temperature (70 degrees) more than two hours
should be thrown away.
Don’t let your children run around barefoot. Broken glass can
cause cuts and fireworks that are still hot can cause burns.
