Summer Safety for Kids
Michelle Sterling, Wellness and Safety Specialist, shares summer safety tips for kids. Learn more about the Children’s Wellness and Safety Center.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about the Children’s Wellness and Safety Center.
Michelle Sterling, M.Ed
Michelle Sterling is a Wellness and Safety Specialist for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and the Safe Kids Greater Tampa Coordinator. Michelle was an educator for ten years prior to coming to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and has her masters of science in education. As a Wellness and Safety Specialist, Michelle educates children and families throughout our community on how to stay safe and prevent injuries involving water safety, bicycle and pedestrian safety, safe sleep, home safety, proper nutrition, and the importance of physical activity. Michelle serves as an active member on the following committees: Child Abuse Death Review team, the Pinellas County School Health Advisory committee, Fetal Infant Mortality Review team, and the Pinellas Preventable Child Death Planning team. She has a passion for keeping our children safe and healthy in the Tampa Bay.Learn more about the Children’s Wellness and Safety Center.
Transcription:
Summer Safety for Kids
Melanie Cole (Host): We all love having fun in the summer. It’s something you can do with your family and friends and have such a good time, but there are some safety concerns you should consider. My guest is Michelle Sterling. She’s the Wellness and Safety Specialist with the St. Joseph’s Children Wellness and Safety Center with BayCare Health System. Michelle, I’m glad to have you on because these are such important topics we’re going to talk about today and sometimes they’re things that people don’t always think about, so let’s start with the sun. Sunblock, what does SPF mean? How often should we be applying sunscreen?
Michelle Sterling (Guest): So the SPF would the sun protection factor that you’re going to receive on your skin after you apply that. So you want to apply at least at 15 but the higher the better. So for example, an SPF of 50 guarantees 98% coverage. So you always want to look for that sunscreen that has the broad spectrum sunscreen that blocks both the UVA and UVB radiation. The best is you want to apply it 30 minutes before going outside, and then you want to reapply it every 2 hours especially after swimming or sweating, even if using waterproof products, you still want to reapply.
Host: So when we’re in the water, out of the water, we should reapply our sunscreen. What about some of the clothing that’s out there today Michelle, that is sun protective clothing?
Michelle: Yeah those are great. You want to stay as covered up as possible with a hat, the swim shirts, and those coverups, especially helpful for whenever you might be out in the sun during the strongest part of the days, which is typically between 10 am to 4 pm, that is when the ultraviolet rays are at their most harmful. So being covered up is definitely going to help protect you as well with that clothing and with the sunscreen. One area to point out is you want to pay attention to those areas that might not be able to be covered up with clothing, and we might forget them when we go to apply our sunscreen. So you want to make sure you pay attention to your nose, your ears, your lips, and even the tops of your feet.
Host: Well my daughter got burned on the top of her head because she wouldn’t wear a hat, so her hairline got burned, so that’s a great point that you make is those places on our body that we don’t typically think of, and the tops of your feet, that’s a really good point as well. So now swimming, pools, beaches, we love to go swimming. Let’s start with the pool.
Michelle: Well one of the things that we like to emphasize is to enroll your child in swim lessons. You want to make sure that your child learns how to swim so they know what to do and that they’re ready for it whenever they’re out near water. Living in an area like we do in the Tampa Bay region, we have water all around us, whether it be a pool, retention pond, even the open water of the ocean, so we want to make sure that our children know how to swim. Another thing that we want to make sure is that we are supervising, so you want to pay attention to your children. Put your devices down so you’re not distracted. If you happen to be maybe at a barbeque which we like to do a lot in the summer, is that you have a designated water watcher. You want somebody that’s going to be watching the children for, you can designate a time, let’s say 10 minutes, and then when that 10 minutes is up, then the next person goes to watch them because typically that’s when we assume that someone in the group is watching the children and making sure that they are being safe. Drowning is silent. It’s not loud like it’s often depicted in the media, so we want to make sure that our children are being actively supervised while they’re out there playing. Another thing for your – make sure that your pool has one of four safety features installed. So in the state of Florida in the year 2000 they mandated some new laws. So first of all, one of the things is that you have a safety pool cover, a barrier that is at least 4 feet high where your pool fences are, so you want to make sure that your pool fences are installed corrected and that they have a lock on them. A self latching device so that they lock in place whenever there’s not supervision out there and the children cannot get in there. Another barrier would be a window alarm or a door alarm, so you know when maybe a toddler happens to sneak out, open that door when you thought they were taking a nap and you’ll hear that alarm go off, so that’s just another barrier. In Hillsboro County just in 2019 we’ve already had 2 drownings, but in the state of Florida we’ve had 15 drownings and of those 15, 8 of them were children that got of the door undetected. We really want to make sure that we have those safety barriers in place.
Host: Really such important information. Now as we’re at the pools and making sure that our kids are protected, what about those flotation devices? You mentioned teaching our kids to swim, but some people think that those little arm floats are pretty good or that if the kid is holding onto something, that’s sufficient, what do you think about those little arm floats?
Michelle: Those arm floats can actually become a hindrance to the children because they are used to jumping in there with them on, that many times the younger aged children think they can jump in because they don’t realize the connection of having those little arm floats on kind of helps them stay afloat, so they might just jump in anyways without having them on, so we want to make sure that they’re not relying on those water wings or other floatation devices because they’re not generally as effective in protecting a child from drowning.
Host: So onto the beach we go and we can talk about obviously life jackets, because that’s something when people are swimming at lakes or at beaches or littler kids, what do you think they should be doing as far as life jackets and how excellent swimmers even can get pulled under by rip tides and open water, so what are some beach safety concerns you want us to know about Michelle?
Michelle: Right, so when it comes to a life jacket, you want to make sure that you’re choosing one that is a US Coast Guard approved life jacket. You want to make sure that it fits snugly. Typically as parents we buy our kids clothing just a little bit big so that they can get more wear of it, but this is an article that you don’t want to size up, you want to make sure that it fits nice and snug. Because of those, they might be, like you said, a good swimmer, you might think they’re okay in a pool, but we always have rip currents and tides that we need to be aware of, and those can, any swimmer, even strong ones that can be a challenge to them when they’re out in open water.
Host: So what else about the beach because we mentioned already sunscreen, but dehydration – you might be sitting in this large body of water and not even think that the sun is very hot and the sand is hot, dehydration is a big problem in the summer, yes?
Michelle: Yes so children absorb more heat than us but they sweat less, so you want to especially make sure that you are watching them because they can be at more risk for dehydration. Just always keep a bottle of water handy, something that you can refill constantly that can be around just to keep the children drinking and of course they’re always playing and never want to stop, especially when they’re in the pool or on a beach, they want to keep playing. Just make sure that they are drinking water. It’s the best thing for them to help rehydrate them. The sugary drinks or the caffeine it actually increases dehydration so you want to make sure that they are enjoying that water while they’re outside and give them a break. Have them take a little break out of the beach or have them take a little break when they’re in the pool, just so they can get something to drink inside of them, maybe if you’re at your house in the pool they can go in the air conditioning for just a little bit just to kind of take a little break, get some water, just to make sure that they are staying hydrated.
Host: That’s great information Michelle. There are so many summer safety things to keep in mind, and one of the things we love our kiddos to do is ride their bikes and their scooters and get out and play, but as adults maybe we didn’t wear helmets when we were little, but now it’s pretty much something that everybody knows is so important. Tell us about fitting a proper helmet and why it’s so important that we role model for our children for bicycles and scooters.
Michelle: Yes, so to mention that maybe back then we didn’t wear them. There’s a lot more traffic on the road, there’s a lot more distractions on the road. We want to make sure that everybody is staying safe. In the state of Florida it’s actually the law that anyone under the age of 16 has to wear a helmet while they’re on a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, anything that has wheels while they’re out there, so they want to make sure that they are wearing that helmet, not just because it’s the law, but for the safety factor of making sure that we protect their brain, which is the most important part of their body. It helps control everything up there. So to get a proper fit, you want to make sure that the helmet covers their forehead and it’s level just above their eye, and you want the ear clip, the part that makes a little V, just to rest below their ears with the straps snug around their ear, and then for the chin clip you want to just tighten it snugly under the chin and you want to do just a little finger test and if one finger can fit underneath their chin, then you know it’s a nice good fit, and then you just kind of have your child test and wobble their head back and forth to make sure that it’s not going to fall off.
Host: That’s great information. What else would you like us to know about summer safety as we wrap up Michelle?
Michelle: I want to encourage our children to get out there and have fun this summer, to make sure that they’re staying safe while doing it, but just to go ahead and put those devices down and get out there and have fun, enjoy the beautiful weather and just make sure they have those safety plans, parents are there watching their children, paying attention to them as they’re out swimming, and enjoying the summer with them.
Host: That’s great. Thank you so much for joining us, and it is so important that we all keep our eyes on our kiddos when they’re in water and make sure they’re hydrated and proper fitting helmets. It’s all great information, and that wraps up this episode of BayCare Health Chat. Head on over to our website at baycare.org for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. If you found this podcast informative please share on your social media and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. I’m Melanie Cole.
Summer Safety for Kids
Melanie Cole (Host): We all love having fun in the summer. It’s something you can do with your family and friends and have such a good time, but there are some safety concerns you should consider. My guest is Michelle Sterling. She’s the Wellness and Safety Specialist with the St. Joseph’s Children Wellness and Safety Center with BayCare Health System. Michelle, I’m glad to have you on because these are such important topics we’re going to talk about today and sometimes they’re things that people don’t always think about, so let’s start with the sun. Sunblock, what does SPF mean? How often should we be applying sunscreen?
Michelle Sterling (Guest): So the SPF would the sun protection factor that you’re going to receive on your skin after you apply that. So you want to apply at least at 15 but the higher the better. So for example, an SPF of 50 guarantees 98% coverage. So you always want to look for that sunscreen that has the broad spectrum sunscreen that blocks both the UVA and UVB radiation. The best is you want to apply it 30 minutes before going outside, and then you want to reapply it every 2 hours especially after swimming or sweating, even if using waterproof products, you still want to reapply.
Host: So when we’re in the water, out of the water, we should reapply our sunscreen. What about some of the clothing that’s out there today Michelle, that is sun protective clothing?
Michelle: Yeah those are great. You want to stay as covered up as possible with a hat, the swim shirts, and those coverups, especially helpful for whenever you might be out in the sun during the strongest part of the days, which is typically between 10 am to 4 pm, that is when the ultraviolet rays are at their most harmful. So being covered up is definitely going to help protect you as well with that clothing and with the sunscreen. One area to point out is you want to pay attention to those areas that might not be able to be covered up with clothing, and we might forget them when we go to apply our sunscreen. So you want to make sure you pay attention to your nose, your ears, your lips, and even the tops of your feet.
Host: Well my daughter got burned on the top of her head because she wouldn’t wear a hat, so her hairline got burned, so that’s a great point that you make is those places on our body that we don’t typically think of, and the tops of your feet, that’s a really good point as well. So now swimming, pools, beaches, we love to go swimming. Let’s start with the pool.
Michelle: Well one of the things that we like to emphasize is to enroll your child in swim lessons. You want to make sure that your child learns how to swim so they know what to do and that they’re ready for it whenever they’re out near water. Living in an area like we do in the Tampa Bay region, we have water all around us, whether it be a pool, retention pond, even the open water of the ocean, so we want to make sure that our children know how to swim. Another thing that we want to make sure is that we are supervising, so you want to pay attention to your children. Put your devices down so you’re not distracted. If you happen to be maybe at a barbeque which we like to do a lot in the summer, is that you have a designated water watcher. You want somebody that’s going to be watching the children for, you can designate a time, let’s say 10 minutes, and then when that 10 minutes is up, then the next person goes to watch them because typically that’s when we assume that someone in the group is watching the children and making sure that they are being safe. Drowning is silent. It’s not loud like it’s often depicted in the media, so we want to make sure that our children are being actively supervised while they’re out there playing. Another thing for your – make sure that your pool has one of four safety features installed. So in the state of Florida in the year 2000 they mandated some new laws. So first of all, one of the things is that you have a safety pool cover, a barrier that is at least 4 feet high where your pool fences are, so you want to make sure that your pool fences are installed corrected and that they have a lock on them. A self latching device so that they lock in place whenever there’s not supervision out there and the children cannot get in there. Another barrier would be a window alarm or a door alarm, so you know when maybe a toddler happens to sneak out, open that door when you thought they were taking a nap and you’ll hear that alarm go off, so that’s just another barrier. In Hillsboro County just in 2019 we’ve already had 2 drownings, but in the state of Florida we’ve had 15 drownings and of those 15, 8 of them were children that got of the door undetected. We really want to make sure that we have those safety barriers in place.
Host: Really such important information. Now as we’re at the pools and making sure that our kids are protected, what about those flotation devices? You mentioned teaching our kids to swim, but some people think that those little arm floats are pretty good or that if the kid is holding onto something, that’s sufficient, what do you think about those little arm floats?
Michelle: Those arm floats can actually become a hindrance to the children because they are used to jumping in there with them on, that many times the younger aged children think they can jump in because they don’t realize the connection of having those little arm floats on kind of helps them stay afloat, so they might just jump in anyways without having them on, so we want to make sure that they’re not relying on those water wings or other floatation devices because they’re not generally as effective in protecting a child from drowning.
Host: So onto the beach we go and we can talk about obviously life jackets, because that’s something when people are swimming at lakes or at beaches or littler kids, what do you think they should be doing as far as life jackets and how excellent swimmers even can get pulled under by rip tides and open water, so what are some beach safety concerns you want us to know about Michelle?
Michelle: Right, so when it comes to a life jacket, you want to make sure that you’re choosing one that is a US Coast Guard approved life jacket. You want to make sure that it fits snugly. Typically as parents we buy our kids clothing just a little bit big so that they can get more wear of it, but this is an article that you don’t want to size up, you want to make sure that it fits nice and snug. Because of those, they might be, like you said, a good swimmer, you might think they’re okay in a pool, but we always have rip currents and tides that we need to be aware of, and those can, any swimmer, even strong ones that can be a challenge to them when they’re out in open water.
Host: So what else about the beach because we mentioned already sunscreen, but dehydration – you might be sitting in this large body of water and not even think that the sun is very hot and the sand is hot, dehydration is a big problem in the summer, yes?
Michelle: Yes so children absorb more heat than us but they sweat less, so you want to especially make sure that you are watching them because they can be at more risk for dehydration. Just always keep a bottle of water handy, something that you can refill constantly that can be around just to keep the children drinking and of course they’re always playing and never want to stop, especially when they’re in the pool or on a beach, they want to keep playing. Just make sure that they are drinking water. It’s the best thing for them to help rehydrate them. The sugary drinks or the caffeine it actually increases dehydration so you want to make sure that they are enjoying that water while they’re outside and give them a break. Have them take a little break out of the beach or have them take a little break when they’re in the pool, just so they can get something to drink inside of them, maybe if you’re at your house in the pool they can go in the air conditioning for just a little bit just to kind of take a little break, get some water, just to make sure that they are staying hydrated.
Host: That’s great information Michelle. There are so many summer safety things to keep in mind, and one of the things we love our kiddos to do is ride their bikes and their scooters and get out and play, but as adults maybe we didn’t wear helmets when we were little, but now it’s pretty much something that everybody knows is so important. Tell us about fitting a proper helmet and why it’s so important that we role model for our children for bicycles and scooters.
Michelle: Yes, so to mention that maybe back then we didn’t wear them. There’s a lot more traffic on the road, there’s a lot more distractions on the road. We want to make sure that everybody is staying safe. In the state of Florida it’s actually the law that anyone under the age of 16 has to wear a helmet while they’re on a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, anything that has wheels while they’re out there, so they want to make sure that they are wearing that helmet, not just because it’s the law, but for the safety factor of making sure that we protect their brain, which is the most important part of their body. It helps control everything up there. So to get a proper fit, you want to make sure that the helmet covers their forehead and it’s level just above their eye, and you want the ear clip, the part that makes a little V, just to rest below their ears with the straps snug around their ear, and then for the chin clip you want to just tighten it snugly under the chin and you want to do just a little finger test and if one finger can fit underneath their chin, then you know it’s a nice good fit, and then you just kind of have your child test and wobble their head back and forth to make sure that it’s not going to fall off.
Host: That’s great information. What else would you like us to know about summer safety as we wrap up Michelle?
Michelle: I want to encourage our children to get out there and have fun this summer, to make sure that they’re staying safe while doing it, but just to go ahead and put those devices down and get out there and have fun, enjoy the beautiful weather and just make sure they have those safety plans, parents are there watching their children, paying attention to them as they’re out swimming, and enjoying the summer with them.
Host: That’s great. Thank you so much for joining us, and it is so important that we all keep our eyes on our kiddos when they’re in water and make sure they’re hydrated and proper fitting helmets. It’s all great information, and that wraps up this episode of BayCare Health Chat. Head on over to our website at baycare.org for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. If you found this podcast informative please share on your social media and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. I’m Melanie Cole.