It is time to get excited for summer! For children, summer is a wonderful time to build life-long memories, go on family trips, attend summer camps, or take a break and enjoy the sunshine. Below are some general tips to help your child have a safe and healthy summer.

Sun Safety

While enjoying sunshine is fun, taking action on multiple fronts is important to prevent sunburns. Not only can sunburns be painful, but they can also increase the long-term risk of skin cancer.

Sunscreen is recommended for all children 6 months of age and older. When choosing a sunscreen, choose one with an SPF of at least 30 and reapply every 2 hours. While there are many products on the market, mineral-based formulations (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) tend to have the lowest chance of causing skin reactions. These are especially good for younger children and infants who tend to have more sensitive skin.

Taking other measures to prevent sun exposure can be helpful for everyone, but especially for infants too young to wear sunscreen. Seek shade when possible and wear clothes and hats to minimize the amount of skin left directly exposed.

Water Safety

Nothing says summer quite like a day spent playing in the water, whether at the beach, a pond, or a pool.

For in-home pools, be sure to have a fence at least 4 feet high, not climbable, and with a gate that self-closes/latches. Children should be closely supervised whenever they are in or near water, even if a professional lifeguard is on duty.

It is essential to start swim lessons once children are ready to learn how to swim. Life jackets can also be lifesaving. Be sure to choose an appropriate option for your child’s weight and approved by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Although floaties can be fun toys, life jackets approved by the USCG provide a greater measure of safety, especially if your child is swimming independently.

Insect Protection

Ticks

Living in New England, Lyme disease is prominent in everyone’s mind. It is transmitted by bites from the black-legged tick (aka deer tick). Fortunately, a tick typically needs to be attached for 36-48 hours before the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease is transmitted.

Checking your child’s clothes and skin after being outside and during bath time is a critical way to prevent the transmission of Lyme Disease. If you do find a tick attached to your child, it is best to remove it as quickly as possible. Sometimes, a dose of antibiotics can be given after a tick bite to prevent Lyme Disease, although this is not always necessary, especially if the tick was only attached for a brief period of time.

You can contact your child’s primary care provider if you have any questions about your child’s tick bite or if your child develops a rash in the days or weeks after a tick bite.

Mosquitos

Mosquitos are also more prevalent during warmer months. Although, fortunately, the transmission of malaria is very rare in the United States, prevention of mosquito bites to prevent itchy discomfort is still important.

Since avoiding mosquitos completely would involve avoiding being outdoors altogether (which would take the fun out of summer), taking preventative measures is your next best option. Insect spray containing 10-30% DEET is considered safe for children ages 2 months and up; the higher the concentration of DEET, the greater the duration of protection.

Environmental treatments can also be effective. Yard treatments and citronella lamps can help prevent mosquitos from entering a general area and provide an extra layer of protection. If your child does get bitten by a mosquito, 1% hydrocortisone cream is an excellent option to help reduce the itchiness.

Injury Prevention

Though not specific to summer, more time outside does present more opportunities for injury. Always be sure that your child wears a helmet whenever they are biking, skating, or using any other form of wheel-based transportation. Wearing a well-fitting helmet could be the thing that saves their life in an accident.

For some modes of transportation that are particularly prone to falls, such as roller skating, rollerblading, or skateboarding, encouraging your child to use knee, elbow, and shoulder pads can help prevent an otherwise harmless fall from becoming a more painful injury. Falls can’t be avoided entirely, but it is possible to reduce the chance of a fall causing injury.

If you ever have specific questions about your child, don’t hesitate to contact your pediatrician.

Wishing you a happy and safe summer!