SUMMER SAFETY TIPS FOR KIDS WITH ADHD-Education K-12
Kids with Attention Deficit Disorder may find themselves in dangerous situations because they have an impulsive nature. Any time that kids with ADD have a lot of free time, like summer vacation or school holidays, they have more opportunities to exercise that impulsivity. With a few commonsense safety precautions, you can help your child have a safer holiday.
In order for your child to make his best decisions, he needs enough rest. Make sure that he gets plenty of sleep on a regular basis. Have a defined bedtime for him. Teach him how to practice good sleep hygiene. Have a bedtime routine. Keep the surroundings in the bedroom restful and peaceful. The child should bathe before bed. Pajamas need to be comfortable. The activities leading up to bedtime should let the child’s mind and body know that bedtime is coming soon. Kids who have ADD make much better decisions and behave less impulsively if they have adequate rest.
Swimming-Make sure that your child knows how to swim and has a supervised place with a lifeguard to go swimming. Emphasize that diving is done only in a pool with a diving well. Never let your child dive from rocks into a lake. Water depth in a lake can fluctuate, and a child who dives into shallow water can break his neck. If the dive doesn’t kill him, it can paralyze him for life. Some water has a current. It is easy to drown when you are not expecting or used to a current. When boating, make sure that your child is wearing an approved flotation device. Even if your child can swim well, he needs to wear a flotation device when boating. Panic or an injury could prevent him from using his swimming skills, and a flotation device could save his life.
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Physical activities-When the weather is fine, kids want to do physical activities. Have your child take a bike safety course if he rides. In any physical activity, have your child wear the appropriate safety gear. Research this together. Don’t just “lay down the law.” If your child doesn’t appreciate the reasons behind wearing safety gear, the chances are good that it will come off as soon as adult eyes are not watching. If the activity involves gymnastic type stunts, have your child take a good gymnastics course. If your child does Capoeira, skateboarding, or Parkour (freerunning), gymnastics education and supervised practice can increase the safety of the pastime.
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Fireworks-Holidays often involve fireworks. According to a 2022 report from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) there is “an upward trend in fireworks-related injuries over the past 15 years.” What does this mean? There has been an increase of about 535 fireworks injuries per year. In 2022, they estimate that there were about 10,200 fireworks injuries where people had to go to the emergency room. Many of those injuries occurred in the month from June 17, 2022 to July 17, 2022. Would you believe that about 7,400 people were treated in the ER for fireworks related injuries in that month?
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Sparklers aren’t just cute little light devices. They burn at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause deep tissue burns. Children can also set clothing on fire with sparklers. Since sparklers are so pretty, it’s difficult to make children understand how dangerous those sparklers are. Children with sparklers should always be closely supervised.
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Guns-In these times when personal safety is a concern for many families, guns are sometimes kept in the home. Ask whether the home has a gun when you are finding out about where your child is spending time. If the household does have a gun, is it kept unloaded? Is the gun locked up? Children, especially those with ADD, are inventive, creative, and impulsive. Their curiosity can lead them into dangerous, life-changing actions. Children must be educated about guns, even if you don’t keep a gun at home. You don’t know what settings that your child might find himself in. When he understands that guns are unsafe to play with or explore, he will be safer.
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Safety for independence-Good weather allows children to go out and about on their own. Children learn independence by operating independently. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep track of where they are and who they are with. Know where your child is and when to expect him home. Educate him about stranger-danger. He should understand that kids don’t go anywhere with people that they don’t know well. Tell him to stay with his group.
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Know when to leave-There is an exception to staying with the group. Let him know about being in the wrong place. If a situation seems dangerous, he should leave. Make sure that he feels comfortable calling home if he is uncomfortable where he is at. Sometimes an activity looks like it will be a lot of fun, and then a child will find out that there is a dangerous component. He should be able to leave that situation. Don’t lecture, just go get him. Later, when the emotions aren’t running so high, have a discussion.
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You want to be able to give your child those growth experiences that lead to him becoming a confident and independent adult. By teaching him some commonsense safety precautions, you can allow him to curb his natural impulsivity and keep himself safe.
Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission 2022 Fireworks Annual Report Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department Treated Injuries, and Enforcement Activities During 2022. June 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2022-Fireworks-Annual-Report.pdf
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Consumer Product Safety Commission 2022 Fireworks Annual Report Fireworks-Injuries and Deaths. #Celebrate Safely. Retrieved October 8, 2023