Shriners Hospitals for Children®

On Track for a Safe Summer

I was recently invited to spend the day at my local Shriners Hospitals for Children® learning about Safe Summer practices at their On Track for a Safe Summer Event.  While this is not my typical party or DIY post, I think it is so important to be reminded of tips for a safe summer.  And even though I was paid to attend this fun and informative event, all opinions and thoughts are completely my own.Summer time, the days are longer, the nights are shorter…kids and families are able to relax a little, and enjoy their time together without the hustle and bustle that comes with a typical school year.  My kids are in and out of the pool all day and night, we are outside more…But, as we all know, and can sometimes tend to forget, safe play is a priority!I was reminded of so many things that I may have started to take for granted at the Shriners Hospitals for Children® on Track for a Safe Summer Event.  My kids are getting bigger, and we allow them to swim in the backyard pool while we work on dinner or lunch inside.  We all love roasting s’mores over an open fire, and while we do supervise that, we are probably more relaxed than we should be.  My older two boys are old enough to mow the lawn, but we tend not to remind them about safe practices and assume they know and remember the rules.  As parents, I feel like we all end up relaxing sometimes when we should be more focused on safety.  Sure our kids know the rules, but they are children and can be impulsive….the event was a great reminder to stay on our game, and practice Safe Summer play!

To get the kids excited, the Shriners Hospitals for Children® set up several learning stations with activities for the children to do practicing their newly learned (or reenforced) safe summer rules.  Before we could play “outside” we needed to apply sunscreen.  This is a big thing for me…I am admittedly so bad about using sunscreen on the kids before they go outside to play.  They have been so much better about applying it since we went to the Safe Summer Event!  Next, we moved over to boating safety, and life jacket safety.  My guys kayak with their grandmother frequently, and I am proud to say they ALWAYS wear their life jackets.  The next activity was pool safety.  They were reminded not to run on a pool deck, and to only jump in feet first.  (We may not always do that, but they never go head first either.) This was a good lesson for my youngest son, he is very literal, and I believe he will be an excellent pool safety patrolman. We learned about fire safety, and lawn mower safety.  My older son was  careful to read and reread all of the safety tips, as he is very anxious to take over the mowing duties from his oldest brother.  Finally, we went to the playground to learn playground safety.  While we were outside on the amazing therapy playground, we got an impromptu lesson on thunder and lightning safety!

https://youtu.be/2AhDJEQ5toM

We ended our day with a tour of the Shriners Hospitals for Children® facility.  I knew they ran a fabulous hospital, with top notch physicians and staff, but I had no idea they did it all for ANYONE on such a small operating budget.  It is amazing to me that the Shriners are able to do so much for so many children with so little money.

Shriners Hospitals for Children® would like me to share these tips with you all so that you can have a safe, healthy, and happy summer too!  And, honestly, though most are common sense, everyone could use a little reminder here and there.

• June is National Safety Month and a good time to remember a few simple tips to keep kids safe and able to enjoy an injury-free summer.
• Summer is known as “trauma season” among public health and medical professionals in the United States as serious injuries and unintentional deaths increase dramatically among children during these months.*
• By educating families on playground, swimming, boating, lawn mower and fire safety Shriners Hospitals for Children® hopes to help reduce the risks of accidents and prevent injuries this summer.
• Should an accident occur, Shriners Hospitals for Children® can help. As the leaders in specialty pediatric care, Shriners Hospitals for Children’s staff provides expert surgical and rehabilitative care to children with orthopedic conditions, spinal cord injuries and burns, regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
• Shriners Hospitals for Children® urges parents and caregivers to remind kids of these simple precautions to keep them injury-free this summer:
  • Swing sitting down.
  • Slide feet first, one child at a time.
  • Do not push or shove others on the playground.
  • Always swim with an adult or a friend.
  • Wear a life jacket when near the water.
  • Never play on or around lawn mowers.
  • Do not play around fire pits, campfires or grills.
• Shriners Hospitals for Children® wants all kids to enjoy a safe, injury-free summer. For additional safety tips and activity pages for children, visit Shriners Hospitals for Children®.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Shriners Hospitals for Children®.