5 Summer safety tips for families

As temperatures rise and the days grow longer, families naturally spend more time outdoors enjoying everything the season has to offer. With kids out of school and schedules shifting, summer often brings more opportunities for travel, recreation, and time outside together. From pool days and beach trips to bike rides, playground visits, vacations, and neighborhood gatherings, it’s a season filled with activity and family time.

With that increase in outdoor activity comes a higher risk of preventable injuries. More time on the road, in and around water, and in shared public spaces can lead to more accidents involving both children and adults. In fact, emergency rooms consistently see a rise in injuries during the summer months when outdoor activity is at its peak.

The good news is that many of these injuries can be prevented with a few simple safety habits and a little extra awareness. Whether you’re heading out on vacation or staying close to home, keeping safety in mind can help ensure your summer is full of good memories for all the right reasons.

Here are five important summer safety tips to help protect your family this season.

1. Pedestrian Safety

Whether it’s kids walking to a friend’s house, riding bikes around the neighborhood, or families out enjoying the longer summer evenings, it’s always important to stay alert near roadways.

• Use sidewalks whenever they are available. If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles.
• At dusk or after dark, wear bright, high-visibility, or reflective clothing. Carrying a flashlight, phone light, or clip-on safety light can also help drivers see you more clearly.
• Always make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of a vehicle. Never assume a driver has seen you or will stop.
• Look left, right, then left again before stepping into the street and continue scanning as you cross.
• Use marked crosswalks whenever possible, even if it means walking a few extra steps.

2. Bike Safety

Riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard is a great way for kids to stay active and get around during the summer, whether they’re heading to a friend’s house or a nearby playground. Each year, an estimated 250,000 children are injured in bicycle-related crashes, making basic safety habits especially important before heading out.

Before your child rides, keep these important safety reminders in mind:

• Make sure your child’s helmet fits properly. Avoid helmets your child will “grow into”—a proper fit is essential for protection.
• Always ride with traffic and follow the same basic rules of the road as vehicles. This includes stopping at stop signs and looking carefully before entering intersections, even in neighborhoods.
• Use hand signals to communicate turns or changes in direction so drivers and others know your next move.
• Avoid busy streets and higher-traffic roadways whenever possible.
• Try to avoid riding at dusk or after dark when visibility is reduced.

For additional tips for bike safety, check out our top 10 bicycle safety tips here.

3. Water Safety

Spending time at the pool, beach, or lake is one of the most popular ways to enjoy summer. While water activities offer fun, exercise, and relief from the heat, they also carry serious risks when safety precautions aren’t followed. Drowning can happen in seconds and remains the leading cause of death among preventable injuries for children ages 1–4.

Keep these water safety tips in mind:

• Always supervise children closely when they are in or near water. A responsible adult who can swim should be actively watching at all times, and young children who are not strong swimmers should remain within arm’s reach.
• Enroll children in swimming lessons if they are not yet confident swimmers. Many local community centers and programs offer affordable options.
• Teach children that swimming in open water, such as the ocean, is very different from a pool. Conditions like currents, waves, uneven depths, and undertows can create unexpected hazards.
• If you have a backyard pool, install a four-sided fence with a self-latching, child-proof gate to help prevent unsupervised access.
• Learn the signs of drowning. Contrary to what many people expect, drowning is often silent and may not involve splashing or calling for help.

4. Car Safety

Whether you are heading out on a summer road trip or running everyday errands, vehicle safety is always an important reminder, especially when children are involved. It is also essential to teach kids that vehicles are not safe places to play.

• Make sure your child is in the correct car seat for their age, height, and weight, and that it is properly installed. Every 25 seconds, a child under the age of 14 is involved in a crash, and using the right car seat correctly can significantly reduce the risk of serious injury.
• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for a short period of time. Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children, and temperatures inside a car can rise dangerously fast even on mild days.
• Teach children that cars, trunks, and other enclosed vehicle spaces are not safe places to play. Make sure they understand how to safely exit a vehicle, including how to unlock doors or use emergency trunk release features when appropriate.
• Be mindful that a vehicle can heat up by 19 degrees in just 10 minutes, with even faster temperature increases on hotter days.

5. Playground safety

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms each year for playground-related injuries. With the right precautions, many of these injuries can be prevented.

Keep these safety tips in mind during your next visit to the playground:

• Make sure the playground equipment is appropriate for your child’s age and developmental stage.
• Supervise your child at all times, even on familiar playgrounds.
• Have your child wear closed-toe shoes to help prevent slips, falls, and foot injuries.
• Remind children to go down slides one at a time, sit facing forward, and keep their legs in front of them.
• Check that the playground has a soft, protective surface such as rubber, mulch, or sand beneath and around the equipment.

Was your child injured?

At Huffman & Huffman, your family matters. These safety tips are intended to help you protect your children and grandchildren, but we also understand that accidents can still happen, even when every precaution is taken.

When a child is seriously injured, it can be overwhelming for the entire family, especially when the injury was caused by someone else’s negligence. If you believe that may be the case, our team is here to help you understand your options and pursue the compensation your family deserves.

Our experienced personal injury attorneys have been representing injured individuals and families across Virginia since 1973. As a family-owned firm, we take pride in standing beside our clients and working to make the process as straightforward as possible during a difficult time.

Contact our team at (757) 599-6050 to schedule a free consultation at your convenience. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or chat. With offices in Newport News and Virginia Beach, we proudly serve clients throughout Hampton Roads and across Virginia.