10 Summer Safety Tips for Your Baby
Baby It's HOT Outside!
by Baby Earth
Jul 05, 2022
While summer fun is likely starting to trickle into conversations in your home, so should another topic: summer safety...especially if you have a baby.
Summer is just around the corner, along with your favorite fun-in-the-sun activities. Temperatures around the country will soon climb into the 80’s, 90’s, and even 100’s.
Newborns are especially vulnerable because they can’t tell you when they are getting too hot; your baby relies on you to keep them cool and hydrated. It may seem obvious, but the dangerous impact of high heat on babies is startling.
Here are just a few summer safety facts every parent needs to be aware of:
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- The body temperatures of children can increase three to five times faster than adults.
- The Heat Index = the temperature the body feels from the combined effect of heat and humidity. Exposure to direct sunlight can increase the heat index by as much as 15° F.
- More than 70% of heat stroke deaths occur in children under age 2. Heat stroke can occur when the outside temperature is as low as 57 degrees.
- A car can reach 110 degrees when temperatures are only in the 60s. More than half of heat stroke deaths occur because a caregiver forgot the child in the car.
So, what’s a mom to do? Here are ten tips for keeping your newborn cool and safe from the potential dangers of summer heat.
10 Summer Safety Tips for Your Baby
1. Be heat wave ready
The Red Cross offers a Heat Wave Safety Check List.
2. Block the sun
3. Travel shaded
4. Liberally enjoy cold water and cool towels
5. Dress your baby in lightweight clothing
6. Keep lightweight blankets handy
7. Keep a sun hat in the diaper bag.
8. No air-conditioner? Try a tepid bath or shower, and then quietly rest near slow fans.
9. Avoid the use of powders, creams, and ointments.
10. Protect yourself against leaving your baby in the car.
What tips, tricks, and props do you use to help keep your baby cool and safe in the summer heat? The methods that are obvious to you might be just the solution someone else hasn’t thought of and needs. We’d love to hear your ideas below!
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