Summer Safety Reminders

Greetings,

I hope each of you are having a great summer!  To me, it is fleeting by so I thought to share a few observations I have made over these very warm summer months. First, although I live on the “outskirts” of city limits there are residential areas of course we all have to pass through. I find myself observing each summer, very small children playing on “kid powered” toys right at curbside. Because both the children as well as their toys are so small, it is extremely difficult to see them until you are practically upon them. This is very disturbing to me and my first thought is always, “where are their parents?” Even traveling the very low speed limit which is usually 25mph, it would be challenging to stop if for some reason that little child lost control and rolled off of the curb and into the street. Something I don’t even want to think about.  This very scenario came to reality last summer and thankfully I was anticipating it as I drove through this specific area. Cars parked along the street plus curbs, plus children playing,  NOT a healthy or safe situation and offers high potential for accidents.  So I wanted to caution you to make certain your children are safe during outdoor play.  A few precautions:  Always keep them in the backyard away from traffic flow; be aware of pools-even a small wading pool holds enough water for a small child to drown; be aware of animals particularly dogs. Although most all cities have a leash law there might be a negligent owner or, a dog may for whatever reason become unleashed; and what about predators who loiter around for that one child who appears to be unsupervised?  These are just a few things I want to remind my followers of. There is no substitute for a parent or caregiver’s attentive eye.  More later, until then, please share how your summer is going, I would love to hear what you and your children are doing!  Visit my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter at #singleandapparent. Be safe, have fun, and don’t forget to “read” ..and breathe.