1000 SW Jackson Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8649 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee:
Randall Bolin
NHTSA Region VII

Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

John Drees
Douglas County
SAFE KIDS Coalition

John Halbran
Kansas Safety Belt
Education Office

Jim Keating
Kansas State
Firefighters Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office

Cindy Samuelson
Kansas Hospital Association

June is National Safety Month

Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents: Summer is 'trauma season'

Every summer, approximately 2.7 million children in the United States ages 14 and under are treated in emergency room for accidental injuries, and nearly 3,000 die. Echoing the theme of National Safety Month 2006, "Making Our World a Safer Place," Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents and caregivers that more children are accidentally injured in the summer than any other time of year, with about 42 percent of fatal injuries occurring between May 1 and August 31.

"Summer is trauma season," says Jan Stegelman, Safe Kids Kansas coordinator. "That's when kids are most likely to be riding a bike, swimming, crossing streets and spending time at the playground."

Safe Kids Kansas encourages age-appropriate outdoor activity, but also urges appropriate precautions and active supervision for younger children. "Simply being near your child is not necessarily supervising," says Stegelman. "A supervised child is in sight and in reach at all times, with your undivided attention focused on the child."

Parents and caregivers should know, and know how to minimize, the risks associated with:

• Swimming: Pools should be surrounded by isolation fences with self-latching gates, and drains should be fitted with safety covers to prevent entrapment and automatic shutoff systems for drains that become obstructed. Swimming lessons and inflatable swimming aids do not prevent drowning; there is no substitute for active supervision. Keep a phone handy and know infant and child CPR.
• Bicycling: Every cyclist needs to wear a properly fitted bike helmet. Kids should ride bikes of appropriate size and should not ride without supervision until they have demonstrated safe riding habits and good judgment.
• Playgrounds: Grass, soil and asphalt are not safe surfaces for playground equipment; the ground should be covered 12 inches deep with mulch, shredded rubber or fine sand. Jewelry, bike helmets and drawstrings in apparel can get caught on playground equipment and strangle a child.
• Traffic: Teach your children to use crosswalks and walk signals when available and to cross only after looking both ways. Don't let kids play in a driveway - they could be invisible to drivers.
• Climbing and falls: Windows above the first floor should be equipped with window guards - a screen does not prevent falls. Supervise children around open windows; about 5,000 kids each year are seriously injured by falling out of windows onto hard surfaces.

For more information about summer safety, visit www.usa.safekids.org. National Safety Month is coordinated by the National Safety Council; for more information, visit www.nsc.org/nsm.

Safe Kids Kansas, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing accidental injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ellis, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marion, Meade, Mitchell, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Riley, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson and Woodson Counties, as well as the cities of Chanute, Emporia, Leavenworth, Norton, Pittsburg, the Wichita Area and the Metro Kansas City Area. Safe Kids Kansas a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury.

www.kansassafekids.org