Use these back-to-school tips to keep your child safe

As summer draws to a close, parents need to spend some time thinking about back-to-school safety issues.

Use the following to help prevent your kids from harm at school, at home, and at play.

Playgrounds

Each year, more than 200,000 kids are treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for playground-associated injuries. Most of these injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment.

Bike helmets

Since a growing number of kids will ride their bikes to school, make sure they always wear helmets. Helmet use can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.

Backpacks

If your kids are carrying too much weight on their backs and shoulders, they may stretch or strain their muscles, cause direct injury to the spine, and, frankly, get exhausted. Kids shouldn’t carry more than 10 to 15 percent of their weight over their shoulders and on their backs.

Help your child sort through everything before packing and see what can be left at home. Place heaviest items in first; the closer they are to a child’s back, the less strain they’ll put on those muscles. Buy an appropriate-size backpack, one that ends just a few inches above the waist. Use a backpack that has soft, padded straps to maximize comfort. Look for a pack with compartments that help distribute the weight. Encourage your kids to carry backpacks over both shoulders. This will better distribute the weight. Make sure your kids bend their knees when they first lift their packs to avoid further strain on their back muscles.

Jacket and sweat shirt drawstrings

Drawstrings may look trendy, but they can get caught on lots of stuff. Remove drawstrings on hoods or around the neck of clothing. If drawstrings at the waist or bottom of an article of clothing are too long, trim them down to no longer than three inches.

Traveling to

and from school

Review the following basic rules with your youngster:

n School bus

Wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb. Do not stand or move around on the bus. Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing. Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver.

n Car

All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat. Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You may want to limit the number of teen passengers to prevent driver distraction. Do not allow your teen to drive while eating, drinking or talking on a cell phone.

n Bike

Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride. Ride on the right, in the same direction as traffic. Use appropriate hand signals. Respect traffic lights and stop signs. Wear bright color clothing to increase visibility. Know the “rules of the road.”

n Walking to school

Make sure your child’s walk to school is a safe route. Be realistic about your child’s pedestrian skills. There is no “right” age for kids to start walking or biking to school alone or with a friend. Each family must consider the maturity of thfe child and how many busy streets have to be crossed. Bright-colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers.

Home alone

Another big safety concern for parents is how to protect “latchkey” kids who are home alone after school. There are really only two rules parents need to give their latchkey kid:

1. Keep doors shut: Instead of telling kids not to let a stranger in, the real rule needs to be: Keep the door shut and locked at all times. If someone comes to the door, your child can communicate with the person through the door, if necessary.

2. Set check-in time: Another thing parents should ask their child to do is call and let Mom or Dad know that they are home safe. Set a consistent time for the child to call each day. Also, find a close neighbor who is usually home around this time. If the parent can’t be reached, the child knows to call this person.

Parents must remember that kids who are home alone are much more likely to encounter dangers such as fire from burning popcorn or falling down the stairs than being abducted by a stranger. Parents need to consider some of these issues facing their families and deal with them accordingly.

source: American Academy of Pediatrics; FamilyEducation.com

Jackie Beaton Director of Public Relations, Marketing & Volunteer Services Fremont Area Medical Center 450 East 23rd Street Fremont, NE 68025