Full Transcript:
What are some summer tips for children and how can summer’s extreme heat affect my children? Summer tips for activities, get out and be active. Swimming is great. You know, swimming is one of the best summertime activities. You really have to be cautious though because every year in North Texas, there’s a lot of unintentional drownings. And so children of all ages require constant supervision in the water. If you have a pool in your backyard, the safest way to do that is to have it completely enclosed by a fence that locks and to have the backdoor locked. You want at least two locked gated doors between the house and the pool. Most unintentional drownings occur in pools that are not enclosed in that manner. And that’s the safest way we know to prevent small children from getting into the water unobserved. Other great summer activities, obviously bike riding is a lot of fun. It’s a great thing you can do together as a family. Wearing a helmet is definitely recommended for maximum safety to protect developing brains.
It’s really important to drink a lot. Outdoor activities in the Texas heat, drink, drink, drink. Take frequent water breaks. If you’ve been sweating vigorously outdoors for over an hour, a sports drink is not a bad idea, but certainly not necessary for shorter activities, you know, 20-30 minutes duration. Also in the Texas sun, you know, protecting kids from sun exposure is important. Getting a sunscreen, we would recommend at least SPF 24, and reapply regularly for sweating or water activities. Wearing a hat to protect the face, sunglasses for the eyes, all are good ideas even for younger infants. For infants, we would recommend not using a sunscreen till about six months old. Keep them in the shade. Their skin is far more sensitive and I wouldn’t even risk having them out in the sun. After six months, you can apply small amounts of sunscreen. You really want to again rely primarily on shading for some protection though. A floppy hat’s a great idea. When you use sunscreen on younger infants, often try applying some in a small area first to make sure that there might not be a reaction. Many children do have reactions to sunscreens. It may not be the active ingredient of the sunscreen, it may just be another chemical in the sunscreen, but it’s important to test first, especially for kids with sensitive skin.