Risk of child injury rises on holiday weekends

With 4th of July weekend here, I've got some news for you that is worth keeping in mind. An interesting study shows that kids of all ages are more likely to be injured on holiday weekends than on another typical given day.

What's weird... It's not the holiday event that results in injury - but the fact that kids are more likely to be outside. For example, 4th of July is noted as being the third most dangerous holiday weekend for kiddos (after Labor Day and Memorial Day) BUT only a small portion of injuries resulted from activities you would consider holiday specific. For example, on the 4th of July, only 2.9% of injuries are related to fireworks, while 8.6 are related to riding bicycles. Chalk it up to kids not getting outside enough nowadays and thus not knowing how to handle outside play. Chalk it up to the holiday zapping your common sense. Chalk it up to whatever, but the point to take home is this - play it safe.

• If you've got kids old enough to ride a bike have them wear a helmet.
• Always put sunscreen and sunglasses on your children and avoid the sun during midday.
• Make sure kids stay hydrated as they're being more active.
• Protect your kids from bug bites.
• When out and about, keep a fully loaded first aid kit in your car.
• ALWAYS play it safe when your family is near a lake or swimming pool.

For pete's sake though - don't let news like this scare you inside. Kids aren't outside enough as it is. Still, inside or out, why not play it safe? *Source