Children may be confined to hot spaces or out on sunny playfields and beaches without proper precautions being taken to avoid sunburn, heat illness, or other hazards of childhood, especially during the warm months of late Spring, Summer and early Fall.

If your child goes boating with friends, be sure to warn them that body surfing behind a boat - teak surfing - is dangerous. They do not realize that carbon monoxide can get trapped in the water and the area behind the boat, leading to unconsciousness.

Young people can engage in this activity - also known as 'drag surfing' - for hours without conditions causing difficulty, and if they have done this before they might not realize the danger is real and lethal.

Children especially should wear life jackets and follow all safety precautions while on or near boats.

In hot or even warm weather, dressing appropriately, drinking water and the occasional sports drink, wearing protective gear like sun hats and life jackets, and having shady areas available are especially important for children with special needs.

Especially in warm and hot weather, children may be attracted to water that is too cold and too deep. An inch of water in a plastic wading pool, or a bucket of water left unattended can be deadly. Young babies and toddlers can tip in head first into buckets and then are not able to pull themselves out. Many accidents happen during a short lapse in adult supervision.

Overheating can also be a contributing cause to SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Babies under a year old should never sleep on their stomachs or sides, and other caregivers should be told babies always sleep on their backs. Cribs should have firm mattresses covered by a tight fitted sheet, with no pillows, blankets, toys or other soft objects. Pacifiers are now recommended as babies fall asleep for naps and night time.

Children should never be left in a car unattended, even for a few minutes. Some children have been strapped into carseats, fall asleep and are forgotten. The Nevada PTA has an awareness campaign in memory of a child named Hayden who lost his life in this way.

They distribute ribbons to tie on the car antenna to remind parents, and also suggest that families keep a teddy bear in a baby or child's car seat, to be removed and kept nearby as a reminder that the child is in the car. Keeping your purse, papers, briefcase or lunch in the back seat near the child - but out of reach - also helps remind parents the child is with them.

Especially in the early months when parents are not getting as much sleep, and babies may be quiet or sleeping most of the time, or later on when routines are established, it is easier to forget that the other parent was not able to care for the child at their regular day or time. Children are in danger of being forgotten during times of stress or busy lives, and a few minutes can mean a tragedy.

Young children also can crawl into unlocked cars in the driveway, shut the door and be trapped. Unlocked car trunks can also be deadly hiding places. Experts say that more than a third of the children who lost their lives last year had climbed into unlocked vehicles. These tragedies haunt families, and whole communities.

An article from a summer issue of Sports Guide Magazine explains that all children have a disadvantage in hot weather because "a child’s heat gain is higher and evaporative heat loss capacity is lower than an adult, predisposing kids to more rapid overheating and dehydration and the potential to develop serious heat illness."

Children with special needs may be more at risk due to health conditions that make them more susceptible to environmental stresses, or symptoms that might be attributed to a chronic condition or other diagnosis. Some lack the mechanisms that allow their bodies to cool off when the weather is hot, or just warm. A drop of perspiration the size of a pea is said to be able to cool a liter of blood one degree. Anhidrosis is a condition where a child does not perspire.

Parents, child care workers, school staff and parks department program assistants need to be alerted to the special dangers some children with special needs face during the summer months or unexpectedly warm periods.

An information sheet that can be shared, and initialed by those who are responsible for your child while away from home,is also a helpful aid for substitute caregivers, including friends, neighbors and extended family.

Author Dan Graetzer explains that "a child’s perspiration rate is much less than adults, even when sweat rate measurements are corrected relative to body size." ...Children also gain heat from the environment faster than adults because of their larger body surface area to body weight ratio and also produce more heat per kg of body weight and dehydrate quicker due to their lower fluid stores. This results in a faster influx of heat when environmental temperature exceeds skin temperature and more rapid production and storage of heat during exercise. The smaller the child - the greater the rate of heat storage."

The Yale Medical Group website describes heat stroke as the most severe form of heat illness, resulting from long, extreme exposure in which a person does not sweat enough to lower body temperature to the point of it becoming a life-threatening emergency.

In the earlier stage of heat illness, heat exhaustion, a child's body temperature may be near normal, the skin can become cool and clammy, and the child might become weak or dizzy. It's important to get the child to a shady spot with a breeze, give them cool water, and remove excess clothes, avoiding heat and sun for at least the rest of the day.

In heat stroke the child's temperature rises suddenly to dangerous levels, they become disoriented, may have seizures and lose consciousness. Quick emergency response is important to save the child's life; reducing body temperature by immersion in cold water or multiple ice packs especially to the groin and armpits, and using CPR while waiting for an aide car is often necessary.

About seven and a half percent of those attending a National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia in July 2005 experienced dehydration, lightheadness, fatigue or other symptoms after standing in the sun for several hours waiting for a special event. Treatment was given in the field, at the Fort Hospital where most were treated and released, and at surrounding hospitals where those affected stayed overnight.

Knowing what went wrong after a terrible incident adds to the remorse we feel that it could have been prevented or responded to early enough to make a big difference for the children involved. Organizations and bookstores often have helpful titles in planning events to avoid and prepare for emergencies, some created in response to preventable tragedies.



Browse at local bookstores, department stores, garden shops or online merchants for safety devices and products, sun blocking hats, visors, stroller sheets, polo shirts and other apparel, or books on summer safety for children and teens

AAP.org
Heat Wave Safety Tips - Special Hazards in Cities, Symptoms, Ilnesses
http://www.aap.org

National Safe Kids Campaign
Preventing Heat Injury and Entrapment
http://www.safekids.org

Kids and Cars - Safety Tips
Preventing Tragedies - Kids and Cars
http://www.kidsandcars.org/welcome.html

Chicos y Carros - Spanish - Preventing Tragedies - Kids and Cars
La misión de CHICOS Y CARROS es de prevenir que los niños mueran o sean heridos a consecuencia de accidentes que ocurran dentro, cerca o alrededor de vehículos cuando éstos no se encuentren formando parte del tráfico vehicular o hayan sido víctimas de un accidente de tráfico.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/spanishwelcome.html

Michigan High School Athletic Association - Heat Stress and Athletic Participation
http://www.mhsaa.com

Is your child's skin dry in hot weather?
Medline on Anhidrosis -Absent Sweating and Decreased Sweating
http://www.nlm.nih.gov

NFPA Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities
http://www.nfpa.org/evacuationguide
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) developed this free guide as a resource for creating an all-inclusive evacuation plan that considers everyone’s needs for evacuation, including the needs of people with disabilities. Please share this with local mayors, fire and police chiefs, and school district directors.