2022 Summer Safety Guide

Children’s Summer Hazards

Consumer products caused just over 1.1 million emergency room visits in 2021. This is an average of about 3,000 per day. Children under 18 accounted for 44 percent of all E.R. visits due to injuries from consumer products. Children’s injuries occur most often in the month of May, coinciding with the end of the school year and the start of summer in many cities across the country.

The summer months bring unique risks for children, as they spend more time out in the yard, at the pool, or at the beach. The most common sources of summertime product injuries for children were bikes, skateboards, playground equipment and of course, trampolines.

Just under 100,000 children visited the ER in 2021 after being injured on a trampoline. While the biggest causes of injuries vary by age, for all age groups, trampolines were a top-three cause and the single biggest cause for children 10 and younger.

Most trampoline-related injuries are the result of falls, and botched moves like flips or somersaults can even cause permanent injury. The American Academy of Pediatrics even suggests that trampolines are only safe when used by athletes who are being supervised in training for a sport.

As children age, the items most likely to injure them change slightly. While grills and gardening supplies are a top 10 injury cause for children two and younger, neither of these items reached the top 10 for kids three and older. Similarly, kids 10 and younger aren’t likely to be injured by lawnmowers, as those between 11 and 17 are more likely to be assigned lawn care-related chores.

For all age groups, bicycles are a top 10 cause of injury. In fact, bikes are the top injury cause for kids between 11 and 17 and number two for those between three and 10 years of age.

Summertime Safety Tips for Children

• Trampolines. With proper supervision, maintenance and well-enforced rules, trampolines may be a safe summer activity. Ensure the trampoline’s bolts and springs are correctly in position before jumping, and make sure the trampoline is on level ground. Allow only one person to jump at a time and supervise everyone who uses the trampoline to make sure they aren’t jumping too high or flipping upside down. Adding guards or nets around the sides of the trampoline can prevent falls.
• Playground equipment. Before your children play on a playground, make sure to check all playground equipment for any exposed nails, bolts, or other damage. While your child plays on playground equipment, supervise them at all times. If your child’s playground has a swing set, make sure children remain away from the front and back of the swings when other children use them. Help children when they are trying equipment like monkey bars or other climbing equipment for the first time.
• Biking. First, make sure your child’s bike, skateboard, scooter, or other contraption with wheels is the right size for your child and require that they wear a helmet and other protective gear. If you are riding bikes together as a family, ensure that your child always rides behind you, and teach them the laws of biking on the road. Ensure no children under 1 year of age ride as a passenger when biking.
• Fishing. Children should wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from harmful UV rays. Use barbless hooks that are easier to remove from fish, and make sure children wear life vests or other personal flotation devices while fishing. Children should be supervised at all times while casting fishing lines or removing hooks from fish. Always wear shoes when walking in areas where people may have left fishing hooks, such as beaches or docks.
• Fireworks. Young children should never be allowed to play with or ignite fireworks, even sparklers, many of which can burn as hot as 2,000 degrees. Ensure an adult supervises fireworks any time children are present, and if kids are old enough to use sparklers, be sure they hold them away from their hair and clothing to avoid accidental burns. Prepare water buckets to soak ones that don’t go off, and ensure fireworks are never pointed or thrown at other people.
• Water slides. Be sure to follow all posted rules or included instructions if you’re putting a water slide or slip-and-slide in your yard. This typically includes making sure only one person uses the slide at a time and that users slide feet first. Most injuries on water slides in parks occur because of the combination of high speed and slippery surfaces.
• Grills and fire pits. Regardless of the fuel type, grills and fire pits should be at least 10 feet away from your home, shed, or other structures, and open flames should never be left unattended. Ensure you have a fire extinguisher, garden hose, or bucket of water nearby. Children should never use the grill or fire pit themselves, and they should never run or play near these items.
• Lawnmowers. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 5 should be indoors when someone is using a lawnmower, as they might run into the mower’s path unpredictably. Although it’s great to have children help out with chores around the home, kids under 12 should not use a power mower.

Pool Safety Tips for Children and Adults

Taking a dip in a pool on a hot day may be one of the greatest pleasures of summer, but pools can also be extremely dangerous, especially for children. While inground and above ground pools caused more than 60,000 ER visits for children and adults in 2021, kids are 36 percent more likely to be injured by a swimming pool than adults, according to our analysis of NEISS data.

And the results can be tragic. Besides birth defects, drowning is the top cause of death for children between the ages of one and four. For kids 14 and younger, drowning is the number two cause of death behind car crashes, the CDC reported.¹

Even nonfatal pool incidents can cause long-term damage. The CDC also found that about 40 percent of people treated for drowning in emergency departments need to be hospitalized or require further care compared to just eight percent for all accidental injuries.

Of course, drowning is only one of the ways people can be injured by pools, and many types of pools and pool products can cause injuries to children and adults. Here are the most common culprits:

1. In-ground pools. In-ground pools are frequently bordered with potentially slippery cement. When children or adults run on this cement, especially if it is wet, they can easily slip and hurt themselves. So, if you attend any summer parties this year, follow all poolside rules, and be sure to walk in all the pool areas.
2. Swimming pool equipment. Some swimming pool equipment can be dangerous, such as electric cleaning mechanisms and drains. Make sure cleaning equipment and filters have covers, and instruct children not to put their hands inside or near the equipment. Pool ladders should be securely installed and everyone should use caution when entering or exiting on ladders.
3. Diving boards. Jumping off of diving boards the wrong way can result in significant injury. Before diving off any diving boards, practice jumping off feet-first and make sure only one person jumps at a time. Make sure the water is at least nine feet deep before diving headfirst.
4. Pool chemicals. While pool chemicals are the best way to ensure your pool water stays clean and free of bacteria and other harmful items, imbalance chemicals can also pose health risks of their own. For example, pool water that is too acidic can cause skin, eye, and nose irritation for swimmers (not to mention it will wear out your pool equipment faster). Test the water in your pool regularly, following the instructions from the manufacturer or pool installer. And make sure that all your pool chemicals are stored in a cool, dry place that’s inaccessible by children.
5. Portable swimming pools. Inflatable plastic or rubber pools are a popular budget option for families, and they can be found at a range of retailers, from big-box stores to convenience stores. While they pose less of a risk from things like pool equipment or diving boards, they are still drowning hazards, so be sure that your portable pool is inaccessible to children when they can’t be observed. And because these pools are small, they are prone to bacteria and algae growth if not properly cared for. Depending on the size of the pool, it may be wise to purchase a filtration system to recirculate the water every six hours or so; otherwise, if the pool is very small, you should empty, clean and refill it with every use.
6. Above-ground pools. Above-ground pools contribute to 18 percent of fatalities in children ages 15 and under.² Ensuring that these pools have safety ladders that lock will help prevent children and others from entering the pool.
7. Pool slides. Make sure that you and your children follow all posted rules for using pool slides and use them one person at a time. Sliders should go down feet first while seated and should exercise care when climbing the ladder.
8. Hot tubs and home spas. These caused more than 7,000 E.R. visits last year. To prevent anyone from drowning in your hot tub, cover it when it isn’t in use. Don’t use spas or hot tubs while consuming alcohol, and don’t stay in for longer than 45 minutes. Pregnant women should consult with their physicians before getting in a hot tub, particularly in their first trimester.

If you have a pool of your own, be sure to secure it when it isn’t in use. While gates and fences are required by law or homeowners’ associations in some areas, it’s always a good idea to fence in and lock pools regardless of legal requirements. Consider installing alarms for any pool doors that will alert you of when someone enters the pool area. Installing anti-entrapment drain covers and safety-release systems can also protect against drain entrapment and drowning.

If you have children, enrolling them in swimming lessons at a young age is one of the best ways to help prevent pool injuries and drowning. Until they are confident swimmers, they should use flotation devices like lifejackets or arm floats in the pool or remain in shallow waters.

Summer Safety for Adults

Though many parents worry about keeping their children safe from injuries, they should also consider how to avoid accidents themselves, especially in the warmer summer months. The most common cause of summertime injuries for adults are bicycles, accounting for more than 237,000 ER visits alone in 2021.

Cycling injuries have been on the rise for many years, and a University of California-San Francisco study found that hospital visits from bicycle injuries more than doubled between 1998 and 2013.³ Researchers also found that the location of bicycle accidents was increasingly on city streets, rising from 40 percent of accidents to 65 percent.

Particularly when they involve motor vehicles, cycling accidents can be devastating — and deadly. Former Dallas Mavericks player Shawn Bradley was paralyzed from the chest down when he was struck by a car while riding his bike,⁴ and U.S. cycling champion Gwen Inglis died after being struck by a car that drifted into a bike lane.

For people of all ages, accidents are a major cause of injury, but for adults, the use of alcohol can increase the risk of accidental injury. Reaction times may be slowed, and the body’s normal coordination may be impacted.

Hot tubs are one of the most common causes of alcohol-involved injuries. Not only are drunken people less-coordinated, but the introduction of slippery surfaces can be dangerous even when sober.

Summertime injuries involving alcohol are most likely to be caused by:

1. Outdoor patio heaters or firepits
2. Hot tubs or home spas
3. Outdoor electric lighting equipment
4. Charcoal
5. Fireworks

Summertime Safety Tips for Adults

• Bicycles. Always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle and follow local laws. Also, make sure that your bicycle fits you properly. It may also help you to wear highly-visible colors when riding your bicycle (such as neon or fluorescent clothing), watch for vehicles, and look out for road hazards. Model safe biking behavior for your children.
• Porches and balconies. Before leaning on any balconies, be sure that these structures are secure. Install lighting to increase visibility around porch stairs at night. When installing new decks or balconies, make sure railings are up to code. Typically, they need to be at least 36 inches high.⁵
• Lawn mowers and trimmers. Ensure that your lawnmower is kept in a safe storage area when you aren’t using it. Never touch the blades of your lawnmower when it is on or reach into a lawnmower’s blades to remove debris or grass. Never operate a lawnmower while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Wear goggles, hearing protection, long pants, and closed-toe shoes when mowing your lawn.
• Garden hoses. When they’re not stored on a reel or left laying in the grass, garden hoses are a major tripping hazard. Depending on the other structures in your yard, you could trip and fall onto a walkway, grill, or pool.
• Air conditioners. Have your AC tuned by a professional before the summer season heats up. Protect your ground unit by installing a barrier fence around it. Be sure all vents are clean and unblocked. Don’t lift any units without assistance.
• Alcohol. Even on vacation, consume alcohol responsibly. Dehydration is more likely to occur in hot weather, so be sure to drink plenty of water while drinking alcohol in the summer. Exercise caution when playing yard games that involve throwing objects such as horseshoes, and avoid lighting fireworks and avoid hot surfaces like grills and firepits while drinking.

Following common-sense safety tips may seem like a drag, but when you consider the alternative — a trip to the ER or even worse — taking a few extra minutes to make sure you are having fun safely is well worth it.

Methodology

For this project, we analyzed data from the 2021 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, gathered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This is the latest data available from the NEISS. This system tracks the number of emergency room visits caused by consumer products. This data is gathered from a select number of participating hospitals nationwide and is weighted to make the information nationally representative. The following items were included in our list of summertime products:

• Above-ground swimming pools (excl. portable pools)
• Air conditioners
• Beach chairs or folding chairs
• Bicycles and accessories (excl.mountain or all-terrain)
• Built-in swimming pools
• Camping equipment (excl. trailers, lighting equipment)
• Charcoal
• Diving or diving boards
• Fireworks
• Fishing (activity, apparel or equipment)
• Flotation toys (excluding official life-saving devices)
• Flying discs and boomerangs
• Garden hoses, nozzles, or sprinklers and garden sprayers
• Greenhouse or gardening supplies and other unpowered garden tools
• Grills
• Hammocks
• Horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment)
• Hot tubs or home spas
• Kites or kite string
• Lawn darts
• Lawn mowers (including power and manual)
• Lawn trimmers, hedge cutters, edgers etc.
• Lighter fluids
• Lighters
• Monkey bars or other playground climbing apparatus
• Other playground equipment
• Outdoor awnings or shutters
• Outdoor electric lighting equipment
• Outdoor patio heaters or firepits (manufactured)
• Porches, balconies, open-side floors or floor openings
• Portable swimming pools
• See-saws or teeter boards
• Skateboards, unpowered or unspecified
• Swimming pool chemicals
• Swimming pool equipment
• Swimming pool slides
• Swimming pools, not specified
• Swings or swing sets
• Trampolines
• Treehouses or playhouses
• Qater slides, backyard/home (not swimming pool slides)

References

1. https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/facts/index.html
2.  https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2020-Submersion-Report-4-29-20.pdf
3.  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2432153
4.  https://www.si.com/nba/2022/01/12/shawn-bradley-paralyzed-bike-accident-daily-cover
5.  https://www.bobvila.com/articles/deck-railing-height/