With the first day of summer a few days ago, summer is now in full swing! I've been getting a lot of questions from parents on the topics of pool safety and fireworks safety. And, I'll focus on those topics in this blog post.
Pool Safety: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2005-14, there were an average of 3500 fatal unintentional drownings annually, which is about 10 deaths per day. And, approximately one in five of these fatalities were children 14 years old and younger.
Here are three Pool Safety Tips to keep in mind this summer:
- Never leave a child unattended near water
- Keep a Life-Saving ring and CPR instructions at poolside
- Keep a phone at poolside so you can call for help if needed
Fireworks Safety: With July 4th right around the corner, here are a couple of alarming statistics to keep in mind. In a 2014 report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 35 percent of people seen in the ER around the time of July 4th were younger than 15 years old. In addition, 28% percent of ER visits were due to sparklers. In case you didn't know, sparklers can reach 1200 degrees F.
Here are three Fireworks Safety Tips to keep in mind:
- A responsible adult should supervise all firework activities. Never give fireworks to children
- Always have a bucket of water nearby
- Never, ever relight a "Dud" firework
I also encourage you to check out the story on the WKBN site called "Tips To Say Safe Around Water, Fireworks as Summer Season Begins."