It’s finally summer and that means you have a few months full of fun with the kids. But while you’re having fun, it’s also important to keep safety in mind. So if you want to have an entertaining and safe summer, check out the following tips.
Food Safety
With the weather being warmer, summer often features a lot of food — from cooking meat on the grill to cutting up fresh fruits and vegetables, there are so many yummy meals and snacks to make during the summer season. But summer food is also at a higher risk of bacteria growth due to the hot temperatures. This is especially true if food is left outside and can’t be properly refrigerated. With that in mind, it’s important to practice food safety this summer. You should never use any plates or silverware that raw meat comes into contact with or else you could risk getting really sick. If you’re one of the 76% of homeowners who changed the style of their kitchen when renovating, try to find a spot in your kitchen near the sink and garbage to prepare meat. Additionally, keep temperature in mind — meat should always be cooked properly and perishable foods should be kept cool to avoid bacteria growth. And, as always, make sure you’re washing your hands before and after preparing food.
Swimming Safety
If you have access to a pool, whether it’s in your backyard, at a school, or a community pool, it’s essential that everyone swimming, both parents and the kids, follow some basic swimming safety rules. Young kids should never swim unsupervised — in fact, kids shouldn’t be even around a pool without supervision. And when parents or teenagers are sitting outside to watch kids swim, they should always put away their phones or books so they won’t be distracted. If you own one of the 75 million pet dogs in the U.S. and take them in the pool with you, make sure they don’t push anyone under the water and can easily get out of the pool. And lastly, you should have some kind of fence or barrier around your pool. This way, no one can accidentally fall in and if there is a gate that locks, it can’t be used unless there’s a parent there to unlock the gate and supervise.
Internet Safety
With kids not having school, they’re most likely going to be watching more TV and spending more time online than usual. And while this is not problematic, not practicing Internet safety could be. As a parent, you should sit down and talk with your kids about which sites they’re allowed on, the importance of not talking to strangers online, and when and how they can use the Internet in general. With some pop-up advertisements having a conversion rate of almost 10%, it’s easy for kids to just click around online and get into trouble. If possible, consider putting parental blocks on certain sites or browsers. Practicing Internet safety is important for kids of all ages.
Heat and Sun Safety
Being outside enjoying the warm weather is one of the best things about summer. But it’s also one of the most dangerous things — heat stroke and sunburn are very real risks and need to be addressed accordingly. Whenever you and the kids are going outside to have fun, make sure to load up the sunscreen and re-apply as needed. Additionally, make sure you have somewhere to sit in the shade and cool off. Drinking plenty of fluids is especially important when you’re running around in the heat. And while 50% of the energy used in U.S. homes is attributed to heating and cooling, there isn’t air conditioning outside. So if the kids start to get too hot, make sure they get some shade and water to cool down.
When you’re busy having fun, it can be easy to forget about safety. But keeping these simple safety tips in mind will help the whole family have a great summer.
Author: Kelsey R.
Metro Detroit Mommy writer Kelsey.
Metro Detroit Mommy writer Kelsey.
