Keeping Kids Safe: Eliminating Potential Road And Backyard Hazards

Kids are a handful these days. Parents are always up and about all the time just to keep pace with them. Keep your kids safe with the following safety suggestions:

Road Safety

Raging traffic, buses, speeding cars — name it and the roads have it. Every now and then, we hear news about vehicular accidents and at times, incidents of pedestrian deaths.

Here are guidelines for you to keep in mind. It won’t hurt if you teach your kids these safety tips. Adult supervision is a must.

• Before crossing the street, look right and left. Cross only when the street is clear. Keep looking both ways while crossing.
• Walk facing traffic. If there are no sidewalks, stay on the left side as much as possible.
• When crossing the street, kids should hold hands with a grown-up. you’ll never know when a speeding car will suddenly show up.
• Let your kids stay in the back of the car, whether it’s a long trip or not.
• If your child walks to school, make sure that he takes the same route to his destination everyday. Better yet, go with your child to locate the safest track.
• Tell your child to never run into the street to retrieve a toy or for any other reason. Ask an adult to assist him.
• Disallow playing on driveways, streets or parking lots.
• Keep an eye on cars that are backing up.
• Always stays on the sidewalk and avoid manholes even if there’s a lid on it.

Backyard Safety

Kids love to play. At home, you can keep an eye on your kids while they’re playing in your own backyard. But you can’t be with them all the time especially when they are in school. Here are several tips on what you can do to ensure your kids’ safety when they are in the school playground.

• Go over the playground where your kids play. See if there are rusty or broken equipments and dangerous or jagged surfaces. Inform school officials right away.
• To avoid strangulation, remove hood and neck drawstrings from your kids’ garments.
• Instruct kids about proper behavior, such as no pushing or shoving of other kids.
• Make your child play in areas suitable for his age.

Water Safety

Kids tend to forget the time when they’re swimming, floating and horsing around in the pool. How do you keep them safe from the perilous sway of the water? Check out these ideas:

• Have kids wear arm floaters or any floating device.
• As much as possible, let the kids stay in the shallow area only.
• You can bring toys for added fun but make sure there are no sharp edges or items.
• Teach kids aged 13 and above about infant and child CPR.
• At age 4, enroll your kids in swimming lessons. If you don’t know how to swim, take the classes with your kids for double fun.
• Set up fences at least five feet high around home swimming pools.
• Make sure that rescue equipments are handy.
• Have a complete list of telephone and emergency numbers on hand.

Leptospirosis Lookout

Leptospirosis is a communicable disease that comes with the onslaught of the rainy season. It is caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes. People can get leptospirosis through contact of the skin with water or moist soil that has been contaminated by the urine of infected animals such as rats.

Due to poor garbage disposal that results to clogged drainage systems, the number of leptospirosis cases rise during the rainy season.

The symptoms of leptospirosis are as follows:

• Fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Body aches
• Nausea
• Abdominal pain

To prevent leptospirosis infection, here are some suggestions:

• Always wash with soap and water after wading in floodwaters.
• Maintain a clean environment to efficiently control rat infestation.
• Segregate your wet and dry wastes.