During summer, kids spend more time at home, playing outdoors and trying out all sorts of activities!
School holidays, Christmas, and New Year come rolling in with new toys, exciting celebrations, family road trips, and plenty of summer adventures that shake up the everyday routine.
To keep everyone safe while having a blast, here are some simple tips to help reduce the risk of injuries this summer!
Around the Home:
- Ensure toys are appropriate for the child’s age and stage of development and are of good quality.
- Be aware of toys, novelty items and decorations containing button batteries around Christmas time and
ensure children do not have access to them. - Actively supervise children during gatherings and ensure everyone knows who the responsible adult is.
- Educate your children to interact with pets in a friendly manner and teach them not to disturb pets when they are eating, sleeping or caring for young. Always ask the owner’s permission before petting.
- Say goodbye to guests from the doorway to avoid accidents on the driveway.
- For more information, check out our Home Safety Resources.
While in the Garden:
- Keep gardens well maintained to eliminate hiding places for insects, spiders and reptiles.
- When playing outside, enclosed shoes, pants and long-sleeved clothing will assist in protecting children
from insect bites. - For more information, check out our Backyard Safety Factsheet.
Water Safety:
- Always actively supervise young children within arm’s reach around water.
- Restrict access to water. Home swimming pools and inflatable pools deeper than 30cm must be fenced.
- Check fences for damage and ensure the pool gate is kept shut with a self-closing, self-latching gate.
- For more water safety resources, we recommend checking out Royal Life Saving Society of WA article on Keeping Watch this summer.
At Play:
- Always supervise children when they are playing and teach them how to use equipment safely.
- Ensure that there is only one person at a time jumping on the trampoline.
- Ensure trampolines and playground equipment meet Australian Standards and are in good condition.
- Provide a clear area free from hard objects around and underneath trampolines and play equipment.
- Check out our Trampoline Animation for more safety tips.
On the Road:
- When using or gifting bicycles and other small-wheeled devices, ensure that that safety equipment is provided. Children should always wear a helmet that complies with the current Australian Standards.
- Children riding bikes and other small-wheeled devices should wear clothing that is highly visible to road users.
- Teach children how to cross the road safely and be aware of cars entering or exiting driveways.
- When travelling in the car ensure children use a correctly fitted child car restraint for their age and size.
- Never leave children unattended in a car. On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 30° higher than the outside temperature.
- Check out our Hot Cars Campaign for more information.
