Massachusetts Departments of Children and Families and Public Health Issue Reminder on Useful Summertime Safety Tips

Guidance Intended to Prevent Summer Accidents

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BOSTON — In anticipation of the warm summer months, the Massachusetts Departments of Children and Families (DCF) and Public Health (DPH) would like to remind families and caregivers with young children of useful summertime safety tips.

Infants, toddlers and young children (ages 0-5 years) depend on adults for their safety. Children this age like to explore, but are not aware of dangers. Three hazards in warmer weather involve falls from windows, water safety, especially around pools, and safety around and in cars. Simple safety steps can prevent injury.

Window Safety

Falls are the leading cause of injury to children, and falls from windows involving young children are especially serious. Window falls are preventable. Toprevent window falls, parents and caregivers should:

Be sure children are always supervised.
Lock all unopened doors and windows.
Keep beds, furniture and anything a child can climb on away from windows.
Open windows from the top, not from the bottom.
Install quick release window guards; screens do not protect children from falling out of windows.

Water and Pool Safety ^{1, 2}

Children have a natural curiosity and attraction to water. However, drowning is a leading cause of death among young children, both nationally and in Massachusetts. To help prevent water-related injury and drowning:

Whenever infants and toddlers are in or around water, an adult should be within an arm's length, providing "touch supervision."
Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity while supervising children, not even for a moment. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.
Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Learn to swim. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend swimming classes as the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than four. Constant, careful supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are necessary even when children have completed swimming classes.
Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings,” “noodles,” or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool after use so children are not tempted to reach for them.
Swim only in designated swimming areas.
Always swim with a buddy.
Select swimming sites that have lifeguards, whenever possible.

If you have a swimming pool at home:

Install a four-sided pool fence that completely separates the house and play area of the yard from the pool area. The fence should be at least four feet high. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children.</
After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can't get back into it.
Consider additional barriers such as automatic door locks or alarms to prevent access or notify you if someone enters the pool area.
Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.

Car Safety³

Cars can be unsafe, and not just because of car crashes. Children left in a hot car can die from overheating. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates a closed car, sitting in the summer sun, quickly turns into an oven, with temperatures rising from 78 degrees to 100 degrees in just three minutes, and to 125 degrees in six to eight minutes. In addition, children can be injured while getting out of moving cars or be run or backed over by motor vehicles. To assist in keeping your young children safe in and around cars:

Never leave children alone in a parked vehicle, even when they are asleep or restrained, and even if the windows are open.
Always lock your car and keep the keys out of children's reach. Make a habit of looking in the vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away.
Ensure adequate supervision when children are playing in areas near parked motor vehicles.
If a child is missing, check the vehicle first, including the trunk.
Ask your childcare provider to call you if your child does not show up for childcare.
Do things to remind yourself that a child is in the vehicle, such as placing your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat so that you will have to check the back seat when you leave the vehicle.

If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call the police. If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible. Cool the child rapidly. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.

Please remember, all children ages 12 and younger should ride in the back seat. Be sure they are properly restrained every time they ride with you — even during those quick trips to the corner market. Infants and toddlers should remain in rear-facing car seats until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer. At a minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least one year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds.

The Departments of Children and Families and Public Health believe in the importance of preventing injuries. While the likelihood and severity of injury can be reduced by a variety of safety items — window guards, stair gates, outlet plugs, life vests, car seats – parents and caregivers are the critical partners in ensuring a young child’s safety.

DPH and DCF are continuing to collaborate in a number of childhood injury areas, shaken baby syndrome, safe sleeping and unintentional injury prevention, aimed at both prevention and child protection. Our collective action, sharing of our respective knowledge and resources and coordination with other systems, such as health care, public safety and, most importantly, caregivers, we think will lead to better prevention and safety for the Commonwealths young children.

About the Department of Children and Families (DCF)

The Department of Children and Families is charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect and strengthening families. There are currently 10,000 children in foster care across Massachusetts and more than 40,000 children in all served by the Department. With the understanding that every child is entitled to a home that is free from abuse and neglect, the Department’s vision is to ensure the safety of children in a manner that holds the best hope of nurturing a sustained, resilient network of relationships to support the child’s growth and development into adulthood. Programs through the Department of Children and Families include foster care, adoption, adolescent services and domestic violence services.

About the Department of Public Health (DPH)

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health serves all the people in the Commonwealth and promotes healthy people, healthy families, healthy communities and healthy environments through compassionate care, education and prevention.

References

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water-related Injuries: Fact Sheet. Accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.htm. Accessed June 18, 2009
²American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, Policy Statement Prevention of Drowning in Infants, Children, and Adolescents, PEDIATRICS Vol. 112 No. 2 August 2003, pp. 437-439
³National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Keeping Kids Safe, Hyperthermia and Heat Stroke. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa Accessed June 18, 2009.

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