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By
Catherine Pruissen
Ah!
The joys of winter: Snow and ice, tobogganing and
skating, snow castles and skiing. For children of
all ages winter truly is nature's wonderland. But
as Martin Lesperance points out in his book, Kids
For Keeps - Preventing Injuries to Children,
despite all the fun the season has to offer, parents
and cargivers must take precautions to keep children
safe during the winter.
"Many
of the precautions you should take when going outdoors
an a sunny day apply to taking your child outdoors
on wintery days -- the obvious difference is that
cold days require appropriately warm clothing, such
as hats, mittens, and boots," writes Lesperance.
"Here are some additional tips for making winter
outings safe:
- Dress
the children in layers.
- If
children are playing on snow, remember that it reflects
light and the risk of sun burn is therefor increased.
Use sunscreen an exposed skin, especially in the
mountains.
- If
they are playing in the snow on bright days, children
should wear appropriate eye protection: sunglasses
or goggles with UV protection.
- A
good portion of body heat is lost through the top
of the head: make sure your child wears a hat, toque,
or hood.
- Children
should use footwear that keeps their feet warm and
dry.
- Monitor
local temperatures and wind chill factors.
- It
is a good idea not to expose your children to cold
for to lengthy a time. Know the signs of frostbite
-- whitening of the skin on the nose,ears, and extremities
-- and bring your child into a warm shelter before
these signs appear! "
So
bundle the kids up and have fun. After all the fresh
air is good for both the body and soul.
Source:
Kids for Keeps: Preventing Injury to Children,
by Martin Lesperance. Kids for Keeps Ltd. Cochrane,
Alberta.
(See
Business Forms in our Exclusive Products section to
order ready-to-use Accident/Illness/Injury Report
and other valuable forms .)
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©
Catherine M. Pruissen
Catherine M. Pruissen is the CEO of About Child Care
Consumer Services and developer of child care online.
She has published numerous child care related literature,
including Start and
Run a Profitable Home Day Care, The
Daycare Alternative, How to Find Good Child Care,
Caregiver Aids: Business
Forms for Caregivers and Parents, Income
Tax & Record Keeping for Child Care Providers,
and a host of workshops and workbooks. She was the editor
and publisher of the bi-monthly newsletter, Parent Care,
Your Child Care News-line. Catherine was also the coordinator
and workshop facilitator for The Child Care Information
Centre in Calgary, Alberta, and ran a successful dayhome
for eight years. |
