Here are a few tips
from the website Safety at Home to help you have a happy and safe summer
season!
Summer is the time for
outdoor cookouts, pool parties and backyard play dates – not a time for
bandaging scrapes, nursing burns – or worse. Learn these important summer
safety tips and make sure everyone in your family knows them by heart too. That
way, it will be a summer to remember, for all the right reasons.
Pool Safety
1. Supervise constantly: Good supervision means you are able to scan
the pool area every 20 seconds and be able to reach the pool in 10 seconds.
2. Put multiple safety
barriers between children and the pool: Install a four-foot fence with a self-closing, self-latching
gate that has a locking mechanism beyond a child’s reach. Also cut overhanging
tree limbs and remove chairs or ladders from the pool area to prevent children
from climbing over the fence surrounding the pool.
3. Always check the pool
first if a child is missing: Child drowning is
often a silent death that alerts no one with splashes or yells for help. Many
drowning accidents happen when children have been missing for less than five
minutes.
4. Empty small wading
pools and remove all toys after children are through playing: Infants can drown in just a few inches of
water. Floats, balls and other toys may attract children to the pool when it is
unattended.
Backyard Safety
1. Keep grills at least
10 feet from any structure: Grilling mishaps cause
more than 8,300 fires and send 3,000 people to the emergency room each year.
Never grill indoors or near garages or porches, even if it’s raining.
2. Have a spray bottle or
fire extinguisher handy: An unexpected flare up
can burn more than your burgers. Use a spray bottle to avoid flare ups and have
a fire extinguisher nearby. Also, coals get hot – in some cases up to 1,000
degrees Fahrenheit – so dispose of charcoal away from kids and pets and cool it
down with a hose.
3. Never use gasoline or
kerosene to light a charcoal fire: Both can cause an explosion. When grilling, use insulated,
flame-retardant mitts and long-handled barbeque tongs and utensils to handle
food and coals.
4. Check gas grill hoses
for cracking, brittleness, holes and leaks: If the tank valve or grill needs repair, do not attempt to do it
yourself. Take it to your local home improvement store or qualified appliance
repair person.
5. Inspect outdoor decorative
lights carefully: Some families add
backyard ambience with outdoor decorative lighting. Do not connect more than
three midget light string sets together. Light strings with screw-in bulbs
should have a maximum of 50 bulbs connected together. Be sure to use light
strings bearing the UL Mark, which means UL has tested samples of the product
for risk of fire, electric shock and other hazards.
Playground Safety
1. Carefully inspect
backyard playground equipment: According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 70 percent
of all playground-related deaths occur on home playground equipment. Make sure
equipment is anchored safely in the ground, all equipment pieces are in good
working order, S-hooks are entirely closed and bolts are not protruding. For
more information on playground safety.
