Maggie McKay (Host): No matter what time of year it is, for parents, their children's safety is top of mind and maybe even more so during the summer, because there's so many outdoor activities and water sports. So, let's find out more about how to keep our kids safe with Laura Kemerling, Program Manager at the Center for Childhood Safety and Injury Prevention, Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Welcome to the Parent-ish Podcast, where experts at Children's Mercy Kansas City talk about the little everyday things parents experience with their babies, teens, and in-betweens. So, great to have you here today, Laura. Thanks for making the time.

Laura Kemerling: Thanks for having me.

Host: Well, let's just start with what are some of the top safety concerns you see in the summer months?

Laura Kemerling: Yes. Working at a children's hospital, we definitely are very busy during the summer months, pretty much from May to August. We see a lot of injuries related to trauma such as falls, burns, water injuries or drowning, near drownings. Those are really, really scary. Motor vehicle collisions, those tend to always kind of be a problem year round, but we do see a lot of them in the summertime. I will say poison safety is a concern, especially nowadays. There seems to be different chemicals and toxins laying around garages and kind of out in the yard. And so, little kids playing can sometimes get ahold of those very much unintentionally. So yeah, once they're out and about and very active, we do worry about injuries related to all of those mechanisms.

Host: So, when it comes to parents, what are some safety concerns that they may not think about and that they should know about?

Laura Kemerling: I'm glad you asked that question, Maggie, because we see a lot of injuries. They are just 100% preventable. And honestly, they're quite tragic. It's hard for the child, it's hard for parents, it's hard for everybody appropriately. One thing I really want to bring to parents attention is the danger around lawnmowers. I think that as a loud, nauseous machine that is very, very commonly heard and seen in the summer months, it is a little bit benign for some families to have children outside playing while the lawn is being mowed. I know that even my own family, my parents would have the grandchildren ride on the riding lawnmower with them, of course, with the blade up. But, you know, the children think it's fun. So, I just really want to caution families against having that activity. We really do want the children to be appropriately apprehensive around lawnmowers. So, teaching them that it's perfectly okay to approach it and try to flag down somebody's attention. That can be really dangerous. And I think parents often underestimate the risk of projectiles coming out from underneath a lawnmower while an innocent bystander is near. So, we really want to promote being safe around lawnmowers. And if at all possible, just keep kids a safe distance or just not even out in the yard when the lawnmower is being utilized.

Host: That's a good idea. And a lot of parents are going to the pool or the beach with their kids to beat the heat. So, what are some tips to make sure they're safe while swimming?

Laura Kemerling: So, the message around safety with water is multifactorial. We really want to promote multiple layers of protection. One of the very most important things that parents can do is have what we call a water watcher. So in this day and age, it is so easy to be distracted by phones. If you're in a social situation and there's lots of people around, sometimes it's assumed that somebody else is watching the water. Oftentimes, at community pools or neighborhood. pools, there's not a lifeguard on duty. So, being just very diligent to watch the water and make sure that whoever is watching the water is really being steered away from any kind of distraction. And that includes being under the influence of alcohol. So, I think that's the most important message.

Secondly, making sure that there are four-sided fences around a pool when that's nearby. Oftentimes, families use the home as the fourth side in addition to a three-sided fence, but we do know that keeping a fence on all four sides around the pool really limits the risk of small kids toddling into that area. Some families promote having an alarm on a back door if they don't have a four-sided fence so that if the door opens, it brings attention to the people in the house that the back door's being opened. Of course, teaching children how to swim is a great safeguard. Using U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets is another fun safeguard that we really promote. And then, of course, knowing how to initiate and perform CPR in a timely manner can really help save a life. So, long answer, but yes, lots of layers of protection there with water safety.

Host: Yeah. But a crucial answer and a lot of good information there. Thank you. The watcher part reminds me of like a designated driver, only you're watching the pool or the ocean, because the ocean to me is a scary one. When my son was little, ah, it just can happen so fast. Even if a lifeguard's there, they're watching a lot of people. So, you're right to have someone designated who that's all they're doing and they're not on their phone. So, yeah, good ideas there. So, what about bike rides and family walks? They're common this time of year. Can you touch on helmet and pedestrian safety?

Laura Kemerling: I would love to. This seems like a very benign activity, very safe, very casual. But really, we have learned that there are a lot of dangers when people don't just use the very basic recommendations, such as crossing a street where there's not a crosswalk or darting between cars crossing the street, that can be very dangerous. Again, with the distraction, I know that, even I'm very guilty of staring at my phone while I walk. But when entering a street, making sure that you're not staring at your phone is really important. Obeying the traffic signs that say when to walk and when not to walk. Of course, little kids, having a hand on the child is always important. I remember when my kids were little, they were not allowed to enter the street without having a hand of an adult there with them. And so, looking right and left. Some of those things that we just probably were taught when we were younger. We kind of got to pull back into our memory and think how did I learn to cross the street and be careful while I was doing that. So, those are all good tips.

As far as bicycle safety, that's such an important one. Also, we do see a lot of injuries related to bicycle accidents and not necessarily people on bicycles that are cycling, but sometimes, being hit by a vehicle when you're on a bike. So, again, you can't always control what other people are doing, but just being very diligent to wear your helmet, wear it properly, be seen. Again, avoid distractions such as AirPods or headphones, if you can avoid that while you're riding so that you can just kind of keep your head on a swivel and be aware.

So, all of those are really important. I do encourage parents to model safe behavior, wearing the helmet. Kids are watching. And when mom and dad say, "You know, we're just going down the street. It's no big deal," or they put it on their head and they don't secure it., those little subtle actions really model to the child. So, I just want parents to really feel empowered to make a good impression, leave a good impression on kiddos.

Host: And also, Laura, it might sound nerdy, but when my son was little again, I always had him wear the right footwear on bikes, for instance. Because if you're wearing flip-flops and you fall, it's not going to be good, or you step on rocks or something. I mean, the proper footwear is important, even if you are a kid.

Laura Kemerling: Absolutely. And if you are a teenager who is mowing the yard, back to what we were talking about previously, if you are mowing the yard, please wear proper footwear. Flip-flops are not acceptable, being barefoot is not acceptable, because we do see a lot of extremity injuries related to not having proper footwear on, and so you're absolutely right.

Host: Laura, around Fourth of July, of course, there are fireworks and that makes parents very nervous for good reason. How in the world can we make sure our kids are safe with fireworks in the mix?

Laura Kemerling: Yes. That is a great consideration because fireworks are really fun and they're very entertaining, but they can also pose a risk, especially for small children. So, I want parents to know that sometimes sparklers can get as hot as 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, which can create a very significant burn. I also tell parents, just A lot of supervision, making sure that kids do not light fireworks while holding them in their hand. Setting them on a nice concrete surface that will not catch on fire is a good recommendation. Keeping a hose nearby so you could spray water on a firework or a fire is always great. When my kids were little, they were not allowed to light fireworks without sunglasses or safety goggles in place. So, just having protective eyewear is very important. I do recommend that kids not walk around with lit punk sticks, because we do see an increase in eye injuries and just very unintentional-type burns related to those being sort of waved around.

One last one that I want to mention is not approaching fireworks that do not go off, so what we would call a dud. We want kiddos to not investigate that if the firework does not light. We really want the parent to be the one to walk up and try to determine why that firework didn't work.

Host: Just as an aside, I can't tell you how many times I've been at a Fourth of July event and seen kids in flip-flops or barefoot step on a sparkler. So again, with the footwear, I hate to keep bringing it up, but even Crocs would be better. And it's probably not realistic, but seriously, when you step on a sparkler, look out.

Laura Kemerling: Yeah. And forgive me, I should have said, proper earwear if you're nearby a firework event. Just even the little rubber things can help protect ears. Headphones work, AirPods work. My favorite is to go to a free firework display, because you're at a safe distance. It's much more affordable, and it's very entertaining.

Host: Yeah. And it's safer and you just have to show up. So in closing, Laura, this has all been so informative and helpful. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Laura Kemerling: I just think you can never be too careful supervising kids. Most of the things that we see are very much unintentional and parents are doing their best to keep kids safe. So, I just want to encourage them and support them and let them know we're here for them because yeah, raising kids is not easy.

Host: Well, thank you again so much. I mean, really, I already got a lot of good ideas. You know, I thought I knew pretty much, but there's always more to learn when it comes to this and what's more important than our children's safety. So, thank you.

Laura Kemerling: Yeah. thank you.

Host: Again, that's Laura Kemerling. To find out more, please visit childrensmercy.org/parentish. That's childrensmercy.org/parentish. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out our entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening. That concludes this episode of the Parent-ish Podcast. For more parenting tips and tricks, visit us at parentish.org, where we help you celebrate the craziness and challenges of parenthood.