Family Forum: How to Avoid a Trip to the ER With Your Child This Summer

Summer is a happy time for Redmond families. The weather usually provides plenty of opportunities for kids to be outdoors, camping, swimming and riding bikes with friends.

Unfortunately there are also a lot of chances for serious accidents this time of year, including the hazards that can arise while swimming or boating in local rivers and lakes or from falling off a bike, skateboard or scooter.

Here are some tips from two local doctors that will help you keep your kids safe and healthy this summer, and hopefully out of the emergency room, while enjoying time outside.

Water safety

Dr. Douglas Diekema is the Director of Education for the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is also attending physician in the Emergency Department at Seattle Children’s Hopsital. Diekema also has specialized training in wilderness medicine, and his family spends their free time enjoying the outdoors camping and hiking. He and his wife are the parents of two teenagers.

Diekema says that parents should be aware that when around water, be it a resort pool, lakes, the Puget Sound or local rivers, the two high-risk groups are toddlers and adolescents—regardless of whether they have had swim lessons or are in or just around water.

“Open water, including lakes, are especially dangerous because, unlike a swimming pool, you may not be able to locate the child in a murky lake or fast-running river until it is too late," Diekema said. "Children near open water must be watched constantly."

The rule when his own children were toddlers was that whenever they were around water they had to have a personal floatation device on.  This is a good rule to follow regardless of if you are camping or at a resort pool.

“Adolescents are also at more risk in open water than in swimming pools. They tend to take risks, such as attempting to swim in a fast moving river or jump from a height into water," Diekema said. "Parents should continue to emphasize the risks involved with all water and message 'don’t do anything you might regret.'"

Toddlers can get into swimming pools, so be vigilant at all times and do a survey when visiting someone’s home with a pool, making sure that the gates to the pool are closed and locked and/or have a sensor to indicate when they have been opened.

“Sadly, we see a lot of drowning deaths that occur when a toddler wandered off near a pool or body of water, and by the time the parents realized the child was missing it was too late,” Diekema said.

Being a good role model

Diekema advises kids wear helmets at all times when riding bikes, adding that his 15 year old is not allowed on a bike without one.

"The best way a parent can influence a child to wear his or her helmet is by wearing their own when riding a bike,” he said.

Also, remind your kids to wear them when skiing, skakeboarding or riding a scooter.  Skateboarders should also always wear padding, he said. 

Trampolines: fun toys that can also cause serious injuries

Diekema said he recently saw a couple of injuries related to trampolines and says that it is common for children to sustain serious injuries from trampoline-related accidents.

“There is no such thing as a safe trampoline,” he said.

Allowing only one child at a time on the trampoline will increase safety and prevent older, heavier kids from throwing younger ones off balance.

“When you have two kids on a trampoline, that is when we see lower extremity fractures of the tibia of a severity that we usually only see in car accidents," he said.

Watch kids around hot grills and campfires

Diekema advises that parents use the same baby-proofing strategies they use at home while camping or visiting the beach.

When cooking outdoors on a grill, either at home or when you camp, he cautions to be especially aware of where children are at all times as grills can get super hot. Toddlers can touch grills or fall into a fire pit resulting in horrible burns, he said.

Beware of increased danger from the sun and heat

Do not leave your kids and pets in cars, ever, Diekema said. On a hot day, the interior temperature can quickly climb to 120 degrees, he said.

Even in well-ventilated areas, the sun can take its toll. Dr. Janie Leonhardt is a dermatologist practicing at the  in Bellevue and Seattle and a mom. She cautions parents that sun protection should be taken seriously as she reports having treated skin cancer in patients as young as age 16.

Melanoma is the second most common cancer in women ages 20 to 29 in the United States, Leonhardt said. According to the American Cancer Association, the incidence of melanoma increased 690% from 1950 to 2001.

“The best protection for children against the harmful effects of ultraviolet light is avoidance by limiting midday sun exposure from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seeking shade whenever possible and by wearing sun protective clothing," Leonhardt said. "There are quite a few companies on the market, including Seattle-based Sun Precautions.” 

She recommends that parents look for sunblock that offers “broad-spectrum protection against ultraviolet A and B light with a SPF of 30 or higher.” Sunscreen must be applied liberally and once every two to three hours of after swimming, she added.