Schools Out! Summer safety tips for parents

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - It’s the last day of school for students in Springfield. Many other districts already ended the school year.

With school out, parents may be out riding bikes or spending some time at the park to keep them entertained during the break. If you plan to get out with your kids this summer, here are a few tips parents need.

One of the things you might enjoy doing with your kids is hanging out at the park. Slides and swings are a great way to play but also have some safety risks. Here are a few things to remember before heading to your favorite park.

Before you leave home, make sure your kids are dressed appropriately. Ensure they have bright colors to be easily seen and reflect the sun. Put them in loose clothing to help keep them cool and avoid things like long necklaces and scarves that could get caught in equipment and strangle the child. Make sure they have shoes that protect their feet when they are playing.

You’ll also want to make sure and pack a cold water bottle for each child to prevent them from getting dehydrated or overheated. Once you get to the park, ensure the equipment isn’t too hot to play on.

“Check that slide, check those swings, and just put your hand on them and make sure that they’re not going to burn the back of the kid’s legs or be too hot for them before they go down a slide and then realize that that’s too hot and get a little burned on the back of their legs,” said Mercy Safe Kids Coordinator Becky Spain.

If you plan on riding a bike this summer, ensure your child has a helmet that fits them properly.

“It’s pretty simple,” said Spain. “We want that nice and flat down on their head, no more than two fingers above their eyebrow so that that covers the biggest part of their head, not so low they can’t see out but nice and low. We want a good stable on the with the straps over the ears so that that’s stable on their head. And then we want that tight enough on their chin that you can only get two fingers in there.”

Finally, parents, it may be tempting to sit back and relax while your children are playing, but you want to ensure you are watching them. It only takes a few seconds for an accident to happen, and we want to keep everyone safe this summer.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com