Keeping Your Child Safe During Outdoor Play

Keeping Your Child Safe During Outdoor Play

As you already know, playing is an important activity for your growing baby. However, as you will learn in just a few months, the inside of your house might not be large enough for him to play around in, and it would be time for you to let him out. But, just like any parent, you will understandably be uneasy about letting your young one explore the great outdoors. We created this guide to help you keep your child safe once he steps out the front door.

So, why let him play outside?

This is often a question asked by new parents. Here, the biggest reason is that it will serve as a big learning experience for him as he gets to interact with a variety of things like plants and animals. Furthermore, he can learn a lot more concepts that will engage his mind.

Of course, it is not only his mind that gets to grow. Your child’s body also gets developed, as he is able to perform more big movements like running, kicking, and throwing. Furthermore, spending a lot of times outdoors can also help develop your child’s eyesight, preventing conditions like short-sightedness.

Being exposed to the sun also has its advantage in that it can boost your young one’s vitamin D levels.

So, what is there to watch out for?

While there are a lot of benefits to outdoor play, there are also a lot of things that can go wrong. Here, small bruises and wounds are likely going to be the least of your concerns. As your child becomes more active, he will be doing a lot more climbing and jumping around, and this is when sprains and twisted arms and ankles become all too common. In more severe cases, broken bones are something that you have to deal with.

Rough play is also something that you have to watch out for, especially when it comes to little boys. They will tussle and wrestle in the ground, which can also lead to the above injuries. You also need to watch out for the toys they play around with, as they might end up hitting each other with these.

The pool can be a particularly dangerous place for your young one. As the surrounding tiles are often wet, these can become slipping hazards, which could cause your child to fall down and potentially bump his head. Drowning is an especially serious danger that you also have to be concerned with.

Even the sun, while providing its benefits, can also be something you have to worry about. Excessive exposure to sunlight can cause nasty sunburns. And though uncommon, skin cancer is still something to be concerned with.

Keeping your child safe outdoors

As your yard is the very first outdoor playground that your young one will have, it will also be the first place that you want to safeguard. Ideally, you want to have your entire yard to be fenced so that your little one won’t be venturing towards the street. However, if that is not the case, you can settle for designating an outdoor play area for your kids and have it surrounded by a safety pen.

In case you have a pool, make sure that your young one don’t wander around it unsupervised. On the other hand, when having them play in the water, make sure you bring out all the necessary safety gear. Also, remember to supervise them swimming.

If your young one is going to play beyond your yard, then it would be better for you to take them to an age-appropriate playground. Most towns actually have these, but in case you can’t find one in your area, you can inquire in places like your local pre-school. As a precaution, inspect whether the equipment used in these are in a good condition before letting your young one on them.

Finally, don’t forget about the essentials. Sunscreen is a particular must have, as your young one will be exposed to sunlight for long periods. It is also important for you to teach your child some safety rules, such as not playing in the streets. Be patient in explaining these to them for them to better grasp everything.

Next up, we will take a deeper look at safety in the water.