Ah, summer: The days get brighter and bigger (perfect to pack in more fun), just as routines get a little looser. Kids log more time outdoors in the fresh air, whether they’re at camp, with a sitter, or on vacation with you. Sure, it’s undoubtedly a season filled with freedom, play, and a whole lot of adventures, but there’s definitely some important information to know when thinking about summer safety for kids.
Why Summer Safety is Different
Yup, you know the basics: Some of the best parts of summer (including the sun, the water, the warmth, the nature) come with some potential dangers. In fact, in 2023, nearly 1 million children visited emergency rooms between June and August, accounting for 29 percent of all ER visits, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and Safehome.org. Further, the five most common summertime items most likely to send kids to the ER were bicycles, swimming equipment and pools, trampolines, and playground climbing equipment. Check out our guide to summer safety for kids with our 8 strategies to focus on and cover with your caregiver.
1. Stay Safe in the Sun
Did you know? Research indicates that 80% of lifetime sun exposure typically takes place before the age of 18. That’s an issue because children generally have a thinner outer layer of skin compared to adults, making them more susceptible to the effects of the sun and more apt to get sunburned more easily or severely. Not only is that painful, but it can lead to skin cancer down the line. How to avoid the ouch and its negative effects:
Apply Sunscreen Early and Often
Use a sunscreen that’s broad-spectrum, meaning it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Quickie science lesson: UVA rays are the longer wavelength rays that penetrate deeply, leading to skin aging, wrinkles, and tanning. (These rays can pass through glass like car windows!) UVB rays are shorter wavelength rays, mostly affecting the surface, causing sunburns and direct DNA damage that leads to skin cancer.
Choose a Formula That’s SPF 30
…and put your kids in protective clothing and hats. Try to keep infants out of the sun, and avoid direct sun exposure between 10am and 3pm when sunlight is most direct and powerful. Looking for a deeper dive in how to choose a sunscreen for your kids? We’ve got you covered.
Check the UV Index
Higher UV index numbers are a sign of more intense UV light that can be more dangerous to skin. Be mindful of days with a high UV index and break up outdoor activities, if possible.
2. Be Wary Around Water
All that time pool-side or near the shore has a dark side: Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in kids between the ages of 1 and 4 years old, notes the CDC. Since drowning often happens swiftly and silently without lots of splashing, it’s important to stay vigilant around water with kids. Some important tips:
Remain Focused
If you’re not in the water with your kids, put down your phone and limit long conversations with other adults until kids are out. Don’t let kids swim by themselves.
Get Certified in First Aid and CPR
In case of emergency, you’ll have some lifesaving skills.
Add a Barrier
If you have a pool or are visiting a home with one, be sure the gate is up and the lock is on. And drain small, kiddie pools in the backyard after each use. For more swimming safety tips, check out the AAP’s pointers and find more pool safety tips here.
Wear Bright Swimwear
When choosing a suit for your kids, opt for one in a hue that’s highly visible. Alive Solutions, Inc. tested which swimsuits were easiest to see if different types of water. Neon yellow, neon green, and neon orange proved to be the most visible in pools, while neon pink and neon orange led the pack in lake visibility (see below). The company even tested to see if patterns on swimsuits made an impact and found that small patterns didn’t make much of a difference but larger patterns (like stripes) decreased visibility.
3. Beat the Heat
When it’s hot outside, it’s easier than ever to become dehydrated quickly… and that’s dangerous. Among babies and young children, dehydration can happen fast, particularly when it’s hot outside. Younger children should drink about four cups of water each day, and older children should drink eight cups. If a child is losing water from heat, sweat or illness, add one to two ounces more every hour. Taking water breaks every 20 minutes in the hot summer months (even to get a few sips!) is important.
Watch for Warning Signs
Call your pediatrician if any of these symptoms show up, notes the AAP:
Mild to Moderate Dehydration:
- Plays less than usual
- Urinates less frequently (for infants, fewer than six wet diapers per day)
- Parched, dry mouth
- Fewer tears when crying
- Sunken soft spot of the head in an infant or toddler
- Stools will be loose if dehydration is caused by diarrhea; if dehydration is due to other fluid loss (vomiting, lack of fluid intake), there will be decreased bowel movements.
Severe Dehydration (in addition to the symptoms and signals already listed):
- Very fussy
- Excessively sleepy
- Sunken eyes
- Cool, discolored hands and feet
- Wrinkled skin
- Urinates only one to two times per day
Keep Hydrating
Unfortunately, dehydration is cumulative so if your child is dehydrated but doesn’t rehydrate, the next day, the dehydration can worsen. Filling up on fluids can help get your child back on track.
4. Prepare for Pesky Bugs and Plants
Everyone likes to come out to play in the summer… including unwanted insects and poison ivy. Here’s how to combat nature’s nuisances
Take Cover
If you’re in a buggy area, try to put your kids in long sleeves, long pants, socks and closed shoes, and use mosquito netting over baby carriers and strollers. Both can reduce the need for insect repellent.
Choose a Kid-friendly Insect Repellant
One way to protect kids from biting insects (like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, chiggers and biting flies) is to use insect repellents. Be sure to choose one that’s effective at preventing bites from insects that are commonly found where you live. Worth noting: Insect repellents don’t kill insects; they keep them away. Also, they don’t protect against insects that sting (like bees, hornets and wasps. Opt for products in the form of sticks, lotions or unpressurized sprays, and apply sparingly. Do not apply repellent to a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, cuts, or irritated skin. For tips on choosing an insect repellent that’s effective, check out the American Academy of Pediatrics guide. For an alternative to sprays, you can try insect repellent pads that clip on clothes.
Check for Ticks
Since ticks thrive in warm, moist, woodsy areas, be sure to check kids and give them a shower within two hours of coming inside. You should also check and wash clothes. Putting them in the dryer on high heat for at least an hour will kill any ticks. If a tick is attached to skin, use tweezers to pull out a tick, straight up and off. It can help to press down on the skin on either side of the tick so the skin doesn’t pull up when you pull the tick off. This lessens any pinching your child may feel. After removing a tick, wash the skin as you would any cut to prevent a skin infection and keep an eye out for the rash of Lyme disease (which often appears as a flat, pink, round patch about a week after a tick bite.) If a child develops any rash or fever after a tick bite, call the pediatrician immediately.
Prevent Poison Ivy Rashes
If your child comes into contact with poison ivy/oak/sumac. remove and wash any clothing that touched the plant. Next, gently wash your child’s skin and scrub under fingernails right away with soap and cool water. Try trimming fingernails short to keep your child from breaking the skin when scratching: Broken skin can invite bacteria, leading to infection. Place cool compresses on the skin as needed. For itching, use calamine lotion and add some oatmeal to the bath.
5. Practice Transportation Smarts
Whether you’re in a car or on a bike, there are some important steps to take to stay safe at all times.
Wear a Bike Helmet
This pointer is pretty much a non-negotiable: Research shows that wearing a bike helmet reduces head injury by 48%, serious head injury by 60%, traumatic brain injury by 53%, face injury by 23%, and serious injuries or death by 34%. Those are critical stats considering bike accidents led to 43,086 ER visits among children in 2024. When choosing a bike helmet for your child, be sure it’s approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and always remember to fasten the chin strap! Helmets are lifesavers, so parents should always put them on, too, and model safe cycling behavior.
Don’t Leave Kids in the Car
Never, ever let kids stay alone in a car. The interior can heat up by 20 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in just 10 minutes, and a child’s growing body heats up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s does. Leaving the window open a crack is not a solution, either, and it won’t keep your child safe. Heatstroke has been known to happen in a car even when temperatures are below 60 degrees!
6. Treat Burns and Cuts
In the summer months, there are bound to be more barbecues, campfires, and sparklers (hello, 4th of July) but they come with a risk: Research shows that each day, 300 children between the ages of 0 to 19 are treated in emergency departments for burn-related injuries. Burns are categorized into different degrees: First degree (skin reddens but doesn’t blister), second-degree (skin reddens and blisters), and third-degree (skin is charred and irreversibly damaged).
Soothe a Mild Burn at Home
Turn on the faucet and run cool tap water over the affected area for about five minutes to cool down the skin, relieve pain, and stop swelling. Next, put a bandage over the burn. When changing the bandage, gently wash the burn with cool water and soap. If your child is in pain, you can ask your pediatrician about giving them acetaminophen or ibuprofen. If a blister develops, know it’s normal: It’s creating a barrier to help head off infection.
Calm a Cut
Scrapes and cuts are another summer bummer that can occur with lots of outdoor play. If your child gets a cut, follow these tips from the AAP:
- Apply pressure with clean gauze for five to 10 minutes to help the bleeding stop.
- Flush the wound with tap water and soap for five minutes.
- Dab on an antibiotic ointment and put on a bandage.
- Try to avoid using alcohol (which stings badly) or hydrogen peroxide, which can actually hinder healing and damage skin. If a wound or burn is wound is large or bleeding profusely, call your doctor or go to urgent care.
7. Build Your First Aid Kit
Whether you’re at home, on the go, or on vacation, it’s smart to have a first aid kit on hand. There are plenty of pre-packed kits you can find in stores, but there’s no need to get fancy. Create your own with this checklist from the American Red Cross, which lists the basic items that every home first-aid kit should include
- Adhesive bandages of various shapes and sizes
- Absorbent compress dressings
- Adhesive cloth tape
- Antibiotic ointment
- Antiseptic wipes
- Aspirin
- Emergency blanket
- Breathing barrier (also known as a CPR mask)
- Instant cold compresses
- Nonlatex gloves
- Hydrocortisone ointment
- Gauze roll
- Roller bandage
- Sterile gauze pads
- Thermometer (and back-up batteries if it’s digital)
- Triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- First-aid guide
- Emergency contact numbers, including your healthcare providers’ info
Other items you might need:
- Any medications for conditions
- Epi-pen (if you or your child has a severe food allergy)
- Glucose meter, tablets, and kit (if someone in your family has diabetes)
8. Share the Info
Preparation is part of staying safe in the summertime. That means you should share these tips with your family as well as your summer sitter or nanny to ensure everyone has a happy, healthy season.
