In many ways, this is a summer like no other. While the weather’s hot and families want to get outside and enjoy nature, they need to be extra careful to wear masks and practice social distancing if they interact with other households. The coronavirus continues to plague the US and the world.

In addition to Covid-19, there are some other dangers that your family should be aware of during the summer. Let’s look at a few of those right now.

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Drunk Drivers

People tend to drink more during the hot summer months. Your family might encounter a drunk driver when that individual is coming back from:

  • A block party
  • A backyard BBQ
  • A bar

Drunk drivers can be out and about in any season, but there are often more parties in the hot weather, and they might feature excessive drinking.

If you know that your kids are going outside to play, talk to them about traffic safety and looking either way before crossing the street. Also, if you see someone driving recklessly in the neighborhood, try to get the car’s make and model and report them to the police. It might be a drunk driver.

Ticks

If you live in a wooded area, or you’re going camping or exploring parks or places with tall grass, you need to watch out for ticks. You can find these pests in areas with lots of deer. Ticks spread Lyme disease, which is dangerous for humans.

Lyme disease:

  • Causes flu-like symptoms and joint pain
  • Causes rashes in bullseye patterns
  • Can be deadly in rare cases

Contracting Lyme disease is no fun, and you and your family members should watch out for ticks when you go outside this summer. You can see pictures of them by going online. Make sure that your kids know how to identify them, and wear long-sleeve shirts and pants if you’re going in the woods.

Dehydration

Your kids might want to go outside and run around even more than usual if they’ve been stuck inside during the pandemic. That’s fine, but they need to drink plenty of water if they’re out there during the day’s hottest parts.

Encourage your kids to drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water every day, and do so yourself as well. You can also drink sugar-free sports drinks with electrolytes. If the day is getting well into the eighties, make sure your kids get out of the direct sunlight and play in the shade.

Sunburn

You should also make sure that you slather your kids up with sunblock before sending them out to play. If they’re fair-skinned, then you should also reapply sunscreen throughout the day.

You can talk to their doctor or do a little research to determine what SPF the sunblock should be. Years ago, people didn’t think much about getting sunburned during the summer, but now we know that it can cause skin cancer later in life, and the medical community warns against it.

Speeding Drivers

Much like drunk drivers, you might live in an area where you need to watch out for speed demons. Some individuals like to zoom through neighborhoods with kids, and they don’t care about speed limits.

Again, the answer is talking to your children about crossing the street safely. They should never run out into traffic to retrieve a ball or frisbee without checking first to see if it’s safe. 

If you know that drivers have been speeding in your area, you might also encourage your kids to play in the backyard or somewhere away from traffic.

Bees

Bees do their job in ecosystems, collecting pollen and spreading it from flower to flower. Their pleasant buzzing is part of any warm summer day.

Bees can sting if you provoke them, though, or get too close to a hive. Tell your kids to watch out for them as they play in the backyard, public parks, or anywhere else they might encounter these insects. In some areas, there also might be wasps or hornets.

Although these are tough times for many families, the summer is still a fun season, and there’s no reason your kids can’t enjoy it, even if they need to take some extra precautions.

You can get out there and have some fun with them whenever you’re not working. Kids are only young once, and it’s a great idea to build up some memories of these years that both you and they will cherish when you’re older.