With summer on its way in and school days on their way out, Cleveland County’s Safe Kids Coalition is geared up to prevent summer-related accidents. Coalition Board Member Michael Barringer, MD, a Shelby surgeon and Trauma Medical Director of Cleveland Regional Medical Center, offers the following safety tips for children and parents:

Pool Safety:
Keep your children safe around water with diligent supervision. “Each year, more than 800 children drown,” Dr. Barringer said. “These accidents are preventable.”

Children drown quickly and silently - in a matter of seconds. Adults who were present when a child drowns were often distracted in some way, by talking on the phone, chatting with other adults around the pool, or reading.

“Never leave a child alone in or near a body of water – even if it’s less than a few inches,” he said. “Your kids should know the rules, and swim in the proper areas. Parents should make sure a lifeguard is present at public pools.”

Make sure pools have fencing with self-latching gates. Hot tubs should be covered and locked when not in use. Curious children, especially those younger than 4 years old, can easily find and fall in to bodies of water like pools, tubs and buckets.

To be pro-active, get certified in CPR and enroll your child in swimming lessons. Drowning victims who are rescued from the water need CPR immediately - before the paramedics arrive. It may prevent brain damage and be the difference between life and death. Children from non-swimming households are eight times more likely to be at-risk of drowning.

Use life jackets when boating. Nearly 5,000 boating accidents occur each year in open waters (lakes, rivers and oceans) and more than 700 people drown. Of those who drown, nine out of 10 are not wearing a life jacket. Also, alcohol use is involved in up to one in five reported boating fatalities.

“Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 4 years and children 10 to 14 years,” Dr. Barringer said. “Let’s work to decrease that number.”

Bike Safety:
While inflating the tires and checking the brakes are important - a helmet is essential. “Both adults and children should always wear a helmet every time they ride a bike - no matter how long or short the distance traveled,” Dr. Barringer said.

Each year, approximately 135 children die from bicycle-related injuries and more than 267,000 nonfatal bicycle injuries occur. Helmets can reduce the risk of severe brain injuries by 88 percent; however, only 15 to 25 percent of children 14 and under usually wear a bicycle helmet.

Follow these simple tips from Safe Kids USA to get the right bike helmet fit and help keep biking safer:

Make sure the helmet fits and your kids know how to put it on correctly. A helmet should sit on top of the head in a level position, and should not rock forward and backward or side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled, but not too tightly. Safe Kids recommends the "Eyes, Ears and Mouth" test:

EYES: Position the helmet on your head. Look up and you should see the bottom rim of the helmet. The rim should be one to two finger-widths above the eyebrows.

EARS: Make sure the straps of the helmet form a "V" under your ears when buckled. The strap should be snug but comfortable.

MOUTH: Open your mouth as wide as you can. Do you feel the helmet hug your head? If not, tighten those straps and make sure the buckle is flat against your skin.

Make sure the bike is the right size for the child. There should be about 1-inch of clearance between the bike frame and the child’s groin when the child’s feet are flat on the ground. Also, make sure the bike is in good repair - reflectors are secure, brakes work properly, gears shift smoothly, and tires are tightly secured and properly inflated.

Remember, bike helmets are for biking. Kids should not wear bike helmets on the playground (where the straps can get caught on equipment and cause injury) or for activities that require specialized helmets (such as skiing or football).

Model and teach proper bicyclist behavior. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against it. Stay as far to the right as possible. Use appropriate hand signals and respect traffic signals, stopping at all stop signs and stop lights.

When in doubt, get help. The sales staff at any bicycle shop or outdoor recreation store should be able to provide expert advice on fitting and adjusting bikes and helmets.

Check for the CPSC label. A helmet should be labeled to indicate that it meets the standards set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“Sometimes children mistakenly believe that they don't need to wear helmets when they're riding near home,” Dr. Barringer said. “Unfortunately, about 53 percent of vehicle-related bike deaths to children happen on minor roads and residential streets.”

Parents should teach kids to obey traffic signs and the rules of the road. Children should not ride without supervision until they have demonstrated that they always follow the rules.

The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet.

Other tips to keep in mind are drinking plenty of fluid, wearing sun protection, wearing protective gear not only while riding a bike but also with scooters and skateboards.
“Being safe doesn’t mean you can’t have fun,” Dr. Barringer said.

“Providing care in a personalized, compassionate manner.” For more than 85 years, Cleveland Regional Medical Center (CRMC) has served the healthcare needs of Cleveland County and the surrounding region. The 241-bed Joint Commission accredited medical center consistently places an emphasis on quality, state-of the-art medical technology and an abiding concern for providing care in a personalized, compassionate fashion. Backed by Carolinas HealthCare System, Cleveland County HealthCare System also consists of the 102-bed Kings Mountain Hospital, the 120-bed Cleveland Pines Nursing Center and the 60-bed Crawley Memorial Hospital in Boiling Springs.