Choose loose, lightweight, opaque clothing with long sleeves for activities such as playing in the park or hiking, and opt for a UV (ultraviolet radiation)-blocking swim shirt, with long or short sleeves during pool time. Have kids use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30, and don’t fret too much about purchasing one with a super-high SPF, Graham says. A product with at least a 30 SPF should be adequate; just remember to reapply it liberally after sweating or swimming and be sure to cover any exposed areas. Top off your little one’s look with a cap or floppy hat and sunglasses. Specs don’t have to be pricey to be effective, but they should come with a label that denotes they block UV rays. Lastly, protect that pucker with an SPF-enhanced lip balm, and be sure to have kids of all ages take occasional breaks from the sun, either by heading inside or finding a spot in the shade. • TK For information, visit BannerHealth.com/KidsHealthLibrary, and search sun safety.
What you should know about
Pool Toys and Aids
t
hat inflatable whale in the pool? It may be cute, but don’t even think about it keeping a child who doesn’t swim well out of harm’s way. In fact, says Kimberly Marshall, R.N., don’t count on any pool toys or flotation devices to keep anyone safe in the water. “Unless something is clearly marked as a lifesaving device, it is not a lifesaving device,” says Marshall, who notes that a lifesaving buoy should always be near any pool you or your child enters. In fact, while a child is in a pool — or any body of water, for that matter — there’s absolutely no substitute for a parent or caregiver’s constant supervision, whether the child is an experienced swimmer or not, Marshall says. Unfortunately, statistics show that constant supervision is not always being given. Citing information from Cardon Children’s Medical Center, Marshall says drowning is the totalkid.azcentral.com
leading cause of injury death for Arizona children ages 1 to 5. “The problem for Arizona is probably that our water is so appealing,” she says. “We have canals and rivers throughout the state and more than 400,000 residential swimming pools.” Marshall says parents should also heed these suggestions: • Teach children the importance of the buddy system, to never swim alone and to only swim in areas designated for swimming (not bodies of water that may have a current or a drop-off in depth). • Keep a phone next to you so you don’t have to run inside. • Enroll children in swim lessons (but understand that you cannot rely on a child to get herself out of a bad situation if she’s panicking). • Make sure your pool has a working, selfclosing gate that locks automatically. For information, visit BannerHealth.com/ KidsHealthLibrary, search pool safety.
From a mom’s perspective It was Labor Day weekend of 2009, and Stephanie Burkett and her family were entertaining friends at their home. There was plenty of activity, a door got left open and the Burkett’s 14-month-old son, Calvin, crawled outside, found his way to the family pool and drowned. “We were just getting ready to finalize his adoption,” says Burkett, a Chandler mother of five who works as a nurse practitioner in the emergency room at Banner Desert Medical Center. “It just takes a minute to alter a lifetime.” The irony was that it also happened to be Drowning Awareness Month, she says, recalling a banner advertising the month at a local park. “I thought, ‘That doesn’t really apply to me. I always watch my kids’,” she says. But the fact is that child drownings happen to all kinds of families, she says. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, your educational level or where you live. And drownings happen to people who closely watch their kids, except perhaps for a critical minute or two when they grab a towel from indoors, use the bathroom or take a phone call. “It’s not so much a matter of a lack of supervision as it is a lapse in supervision,” Burkett says. Today, Burkett is a passionate drowning awareness advocate who urges families with children 6 years and younger to enroll them in survival swimming classes. She also recommends standard swim lessons for children and CPR classes for everyone, including youths. “When I speak to people, I tell them, ‘It can happen to you,’” she says. “If my story reaches one person that makes a change, then it’s all worth it.”
TOTALKID
‹9›