The summer months of May through August are a great time for children to enjoy free time and the outdoors during their break from school. Relaxation, family vacations and warm weather activities are just a few of the ways families can share time with their children. Unfortunately, with more children engaging in outdoor activities, there is an increased risk of being seriously injured or even killed. More unintentional childhood deaths and injuries occur between the summer months of May and August-what emergency room staff call "trauma season"-than any other time of the year.

"No one anticipates that a tragedy will occur during this fun-filled time, but summer is when children are pushing their abilities to the limits," said Heather Paul, Ph.D., executive director of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. "There are simple precautions families can take to make their homes and communities safer for kids during the summer months and year-round." By putting safety first and following the guidelines below, you can help avoid the summertime blues and spare your family from needless tragedies.

Backyard Basics

Your home is most likely regarded as one of the safest places for your children to play. What many parents and caregivers forget is that injuries can happen anywhere, even in your own backyard, if certain safety precautions are neglected. Follow these guidelines to help your children safely enjoy playing in your backyard:

• Always supervise children, even if they are "only in the backyard."
• Make sure all fences and gates are secure. Fix broken rails and check to see if there are any protruding parts.
• Remove poisonous plants. Many common household and garden plants can be poisonous and should be kept out of children's sight and reach. If you have any concerns about a plant, contact the nearest Poison Control Center or a medical professional. Keep ipecac syrup on hand, but use only after consulting a physician, Poison Control Center or emergency medical personnel.
• Keep tools out of children's reach. Never leave gardening tools where children can find them or fall on them.
• Lock up barbecue grills and gasoline containers.
• Make sure pools and spas are secure. If you have a pool or spa, install a four-sided fence that is at least five feet high. The fence should have a self-closing and self-latching gate. Do not use the exterior of the house as one side of the fence.
• Never leave children alone near or in the pool.
• Make sure children drink plenty of water. Children can easily become dehydrated. Periodically bring children inside for a rest and a drink, especially on hot and humid days.
• Make sure children use sunscreen of SPF 15 or greater, even when it is cloudy.

Getting to Know Your Neighborhood

There is comfort in knowing your children are playing only a few blocks from home. However, this comfort can give you and your children a false sense of security. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign suggests following these tips to help ensure that your children are playing safely in your neighborhood:

• Children under age 10 should never cross streets alone. Remind children ages 10 and older of the rules of pedestrian safety such as using sidewalks and looking left, right, and left again for traffic before and while crossing the street. Teach children always to cross at crosswalks.
• Familiarize yourself with neighborhood play areas. Inspect playgrounds for rusted or broken equipment and dangerous surfaces such as concrete or asphalt.
• Warn children about unacceptable play areas. Garages, construction sites, abandoned buildings, railroad tracks, dumpsters, waterfronts and unsupervised swimming areas may appeal to a child's sense of curiosity, but they should be strictly off-limits!

Safe and Smart Cycling

Almost every child yearns for a bicycle during the summer, dreaming of new paths to triumph and trails to blaze. While friends are away on vacation, a bicycle can become a child's stand-in companion while searching for new summer adventures. Unfortunately, children often attempt risky stunts and exhibit careless behavior, or they fail to take the necessary precaution of wearing a bicycle helmet to prevent head injury.

Each year, more than 200 children ages 14 and under are killed and more than 350,000 are injured in bicycle-related incidents. The majority of all bicycle fatalities occur between May and August.

Following are safe cycling guidelines recommended by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign:

• Purchase an approved bicycle helmet for each child. Insist the helmet is worn correctly every time the child goes for a ride. Helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and brain injury by as much as 88 percent. Only buy helmets that meet or exceed safety standards developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision, American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the Snell Memorial Foundation.
• Teach children safe bicycling behaviors. Emphasize the fact that a bicycle is a vehicle, not a toy. More than 80 percent of bicycle-related fatalities are associated with the bicyclist's behavior, including riding into a street without stopping, turning left or swerving into traffic that is coming from behind, running a stop sign, and riding against the flow of traffic. Check with local safety organizations to find out about bicycle safety days and rodeos, and have your child participate.
• Make sure the child's bicycle works properly. Are reflectors secure? Test the brakes. Can the child completely grasp hand-brakes? Does the bicycle stop right away? Make sure gears shift smoothly and tires are secured tightly and properly inflated.
• Familiarize yourself with the child's bicycling environment. Encourage the child to bike in safe environments, such as those with bicycle paths. Children who ride on streets are eight times more likely to be injured than those riding on bicycle paths.

Safe Swimming

What better way to cool off from scorching summer temperatures than by taking a dip in the pool or a swim at the beach. But without adult supervision and by not following basic safety rules, fun in the water can turn into disaster for a child.

Drowning takes the lives of more than 1,000 children ages 14 and under each year, ranking as the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children in this age group. For every child that drowns, an additional four are hospitalized for near-drownings.

Young children are more vulnerable to potential hazards of swimming pools. Children ages 4 and under have the highest drowning death rate, a rate two to three times greater than other age groups, and account for more than 40 percent of home drownings.

If water plays a role in your family's summertime activities, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign suggests the following tips to make sure water activities remain safe:

• Never leave children alone in or near water. Parents and caregivers should always watch while children are playing in or near water, even in shallow wading pools. Children can drown in as little as one inch of water - and it can happen in the short amount of time it takes to answer the telephone.
• Children should learn to swim. Enroll children in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors when your child is ready, usually after age 3. Community pools, recreation centers, schools and camps offer child swimming and water safety lessons.
• Do not assume your child is "drown-proof." Even though your child may have taken lessons and learned to swim, he or she still needs constant supervision.
• Adults and kids over age 13 should learn infant and child CPR. Also, adults who do not know how to swim should learn.
• Pay attention to the water itself. Be aware of undercurrents and the changing nature of waves and undertows when at the ocean or lake.
• Do not let children dive into water unless an adult is present and knows that the depth of the water is greater than nine feet.
• Watch out for sunburn. Swimming safely also means protecting children's sensitive skin from the sun. Make sure children are wearing plenty of waterproof sunscreen of at least SPF 15. In addition, you can protect children's feet from hot sand and sharp objects by having them wear water-safe shoes.

Falls

As summer heat rises, so do windows to help circulate cool breezes throughout the house. Unfortunately curious, unsuspecting children sometimes end up falling out of a window as a result. Contrary to a common myth, window screens are only designed to keep bugs out, not to keep children in. They can easily give way to the weight of a child.

Approximately 70 percent of window fall-related deaths occur during the spring and summer months. Each year, nearly 20 children ages 10 and under die and 4,700 suffer from window-related fall injuries. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign recommends these tips to protect your child from a window fall:

• Unopened windows should be locked at all times.
• Make sure windows are secure. Use window guards on all windows ground floor and up, except for windows that are designated as emergency fire exits. Windows that are opened only five inches pose a danger to children ages 10 and under.
• Keep furniture, especially beds, away from windows. Children are tempted to climb on furniture to reach windows.
• Keep draperies and window cords out of children's reach. Tie or hang cords at or near the top of window coverings. Cut the cords and retro-fit them with special tassels. Children may be able to use dangling cords to hoist themselves up to a window. Dangling window cords are also a safety hazard because of the danger of strangulation.

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign urges you to follow these tips on childhood injury prevention to ensure this summer is both a safe and happy one for you and your child.

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury - the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. More than 260 State and Local SAFE KIDS Coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico comprise the Campaign. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., is chairman of the Campaign and Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore are honorary chairs.

For more information, visit the Safe Kids Web Site at http://www.SafeKids.org.