It’s that time of year again. The weather is getting warmer, pools are opening and children are getting ready for summer break.

But with time away from the classroom and more time spent playing and exploring, it is important to make sure your child’s safety is your number one priority. A great way to do this is to ensure your home is safe for their summer activities.

In order to help keep your children out of harm’s way the Canada Safety Council recommends a number of different actions you can take to make your home a safer place.

1. Communication

Talk with your children about injury prevention. This will help to build positive attitudes around safety. Making sure to incorporate safety into your summer plans will help children to learn about injury prevention through example.

2. Vehicles

Make sure to protect your keys, as well as ensure your car doors and trunk are locked when your car is parked at home. Children may try to get inside your car to play. This can result in them trying to drive or locking themselves inside. Also, do a walk-around check of your vehicle for anything that may be hiding in your blind spots before driving.

3. Windows and Balconies

Supervise children while they are on a balcony or near a screened window, and remove objects they can use to climb to a balcony or window ledge. Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury causing hospitalization among children in Canada. Children can push through or fall from these places so it is important to protect children in these locations.

4. Blinds

Blind cords can pose a strangulation hazard to young children. Keep cords out of their reach, and cut and shorten the ends of looped cords. Another option is switching to curtains.

5. Swimming Pools

Do you have a pool at home? If so, swimmers should be supervised at all times and weak swimmers should always wear a life jacket or PFD. Backyard pools are the number one location where children under the age of five drown, and most are alone when it occurs.

6. Trampolines

Trampolines can be a fun summer toy for children to play with, but they can also be very dangerous. Children under the age of six shouldn’t be using a trampoline and adults should inspect the trampoline and supervise children while they use it. To prevent injury make sure children are using the trampoline one at a time, not jumping onto, or off of, the trampoline and not doing flips or somersaults.

7. Sun Protection

The warm weather in summer means your children will probably be playing outside. Make sure to protect them from the sun by applying SPF 15 or higher at least 20 minutes before going out and reapplying often. Also, children under the age of one should be kept out of the sun.

If you have been injured, and need legal assistance, call #1000 on your cell phone for free. We will offer you a free claim assessment.