WATCH’s 10 Top Summer Safety Traps

Each year, Franciscan Hospital for Children hosts WATCH (World Against Toys Causing Harm) for their annual Summer Safety press conference. This year’s conference took place earlier this week here on our campus and welcomed an audience of families, Franciscan staff, members of the media, and more.

WATCH is a locally-based non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about dangerous children’s products and protecting children from harm. The Summer Safety press conference, along with their other press conference traditionally held around the holiday season, enables the organization to educate the public about the dangers present in many toys, children’s products and recreational activities.

The Summer Safety Report serves up WATCH’s 10 top “Summer Safety Traps” as examples of the many types of hazards families should be aware of and avoid to ensure a safe summer season. Ranging from baby pools to scooters, flotation devices to trampolines, the 2015 list contained a number of toys that are familiar to families nationwide.

How important is summer safety? WATCH reports that summer months account for nearly half of all injury –related deaths to children. In addition, it’s reported that hospital emergency departments will treat about 2.7 million children injured in accidents this summer.

Still, summer months are known as a time for school vacation, warm weather and time to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family. A long-awaited break from our harsh winter this year, there’s still plenty of room for fun and games this summer while also being conscious of the safety of your family.

WATCH’s Summer Safety To-Dos:

1. Never leave baby pools and other containers with water unattended in your backyard
2. Empty baby pools and other containers after each use and turn upside down so they cannot collect rainwater
3. Diligently supervise children in and around whether or not a child is using inflatable pool toys
4. Regularly check all safety measures used around the home and backyard to make sure they are secure and adequate (i.e. pool gates, pool covers, alarms, fences, etc.)
5. Avoid backyard trampolines and inflatable amusements (bounce houses, etc.)
6. Ensure that your child has on proper safety gear before using toys like non-motorized scooters, roller blades, bicycles, etc.
7. Remove drawstrings from children’s clothing, and bike helmets if they’re wearing them, before using playground equipment
8. Avoid any realistic-looking toy weaponry
9. Check toys for long slender parts, pieces that could easily break off, and soft materials that could be ingested

We asked some of our talented patients to draw their own artistic interpretation of some summer safety tips – the above artwork included! To check out these tips and their work, please click here.

For more information on WATCH and toy safety, visit their website at www.toysafety.org. For their 2015 Summer Safety Report and top 10 Summer Safety traps, please click here.