I distinctly remember falling off a scooter as a child and scraping my knees on the hot concrete. They took a couple of weeks to heal, but the injury could have been prevented if I had been wearing knee pads. While it may seem like wearing extra equipment or following certain rules takes too much time, it’s critical to preventing both minor and major accidents–trust me, I’ve been there!
Here are some tips you can follow to keep your kids safe while they play:
- General Tip: Never leave them alone outside. Staying with your kids while they play is a great way to spend time together while keeping an eye on their environment to keep them safe!
- Setting Up a Safe Environment: Playgrounds and other outdoor play areas may have gas grills, electrical appliances, or other hazardous items. Keep kids away from such equipment, and direct them towards safe activities and toys.
- Riding Toys: Always require children to wear properly fitted helmets when riding bikes or other riding toys. I’m obviously an advocate for knee pads and elbow pads for extra protection.
- On the Playground: Playground equipment can get very hot in the summer heat. Test the playground equipment before allowing your children to play on it, and provide a shaded area near the playground to rest and rehydrate.
Don’t forget to talk to your kids about why we follow these rules–they’re not to ruin their fun, but to keep them from hurting themselves (because bruises and scraped knees are NOT fun)!
To this day I’m uneasy about riding scooters–following safety tips such as these for your children can prevent accidents like the one I was in and encourage them to try new activities and Move More!
Cara