Vol. 29, No. 3
Acrobat PDF version of Growing Together also available
|
Go outside and enjoy the spring! |
Water and sports safety
Keeping your child safe around water, whether they are swimming, boating or playing in the bathtub will prevent hundreds of deaths from drowning or near drowning every year. These devastating accidents can be prevented.
Kohl’s Department Stores and Dayton Children’s have partnered to bring you timely safety information. Water sports and safety is the fourth topic in this comprehensive education campaign.
Water-related injuries
The pediatric experts in Dayton Children’s regional pediatric trauma and emergency center saw water-related injuries (drownings and near drownings) double between 2003 and 2004. Through education and awareness, we hope to stop this tragic trend.
Buckets, bathtubs and pools
Drowning kills children quickly and silently. Usually there is no warning – no splashing or struggling. You can’t depend on hearing a child in distress. Children can drown in pools or bathtubs in the time it takes to pick up the phone or answer the door.
Thomas Krzmarzick, MD, medical director of the regional pediatric trauma and emergency center, offers these tips:
- Never leave children unsupervised when they
are near water. It takes less than an inch of
water for a child to drown.
- Keep bathroom doors closed and
toilet lids down.
- Do not use bath seats to prop children
up in the tub.
- Secure pools behind a fence or locked doors. Install door alarms around the pool.
- Install water alarms on pools – alarms that go off when the water is disturbed.
- Keep buckets turned over to prevent water
from accumulating. When using large buckets
for cleaning, do not leave toddlers alone with
a full bucket.
- Don’t leave inviting toys in pools of water. Toddlers may try to reach them.
- Teach children to swim at an appropriate age.
- Have pool rules and make sure children know them and follow them.
- Never rely on a flotation device to protect
children. This includes water wings.
- Don’t answer the phone when children are
near the water.
- Tell children not to dive in water shallower than nine feet deep.
Sports safety
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the experts at Dayton Childre n’s have the following recommendations for protecting young athletes:
- Make sure young athletes wear proper safety gear for games and practices.
- Make sure eye protection is used when needed. Polycarbonate eye protectors are important for sports such as baseball.
- Soccer is second to basketball as a leading cause of facial injuries and dental injuries. Use of protective mouth guards is recommended.
- Goalposts should be secured following guidelines developed by the manufacturers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- Make sure your child’s coaches practice appropriate warm-up and cool-down activities and are trained in first aid.
- Watch your child for overtraining or overuse injuries. Talk to your child’s pediatrician or family doctor if you have concerns.
- Make sure young athletes get plenty of fluids during practice and games – especially during hot weather.
Understand the risk of repeat concussions. Todd Maugans, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Dayton Children’s, has been visiting local schools to provide education about this devastating injury.
Table of Contents |
1 Go outside and enjoy the spring!
2 Fun - and safety - in the sun
Copyright © 2005 The Children's Medical Center - a non-profit organization.
All rights reserved
Privacy
| Legal Info