Basic Yard Safety

One area that sees a lot of injuries, especially during the summer months, is the yard. Many of these mishaps come from lawn equipment, weed killers and other hazards. The following tips can help you and your family remain injury-free.

• Sharp and motorized implements should be stored in a locked shed or closet. Everything from spray paint to gasoline for the mower should be locked up.
• Many children have broken bones or emerged with bumps on their heads after falling on uneven sidewalks. Children can also trip on unrolled hoses that are left across walkways, or exposed roots around trees or bushes that haven't been covered with soil. Another problem is that children tend to play "until the streetlights come on" during the summer, and end up falling on walkways that are not lit, as they try to make their way inside to beat the deadline.
• Overgrown shrubs, weeds and trees are also hazards for children at play. They can block the road and oncoming traffic and can hide children from motorists. They can also cause scrapes and other injuries when children, who are looking at the path they are running on, forget to look up and collide with an overhanging shrub.
• Often, parents are not aware that plants in their yard are poisonous if eaten. Smaller children like to sample plants, and the results can be tragic. Go on the Internet, or consult your local nursery, with samples in hand, to get information on which plants are living in your yard.
• Insects are everywhere in a yard, even if you've sprayed, but their numbers explode as the sun goes down. To avoid excess bites and the risk of infection, call your kids in before dusk, or at least make sure they are sprayed with a child-friendly bug repellent.
• In many parts of the country, Lyme Disease is attacking humans. If your children are going into an area that could be populated by ticks, cover them with long pants, socks over their pant legs, sturdy shoes, and a long-sleeved shirt, tucked in. In areas where the disease is heavy, and the people there know it is nothing to joke about, hikers have been known to go out with tick collars around their ankles. Up to a certain age you can, and should, inspect your children for ticks while in the tub, concentrating on their hair. Should you find one, contact your children's physician immediately for instructions on tick removal and any follow-up treatment.
• Scan your yard for outcroppings of poison ivy or oak and eradicate them. Remove foxtails, which are known to cause problems for pets, but which can also work their way into the ears of small children.
• Make sure fences are in good repair and sturdy enough to keep kids where you can monitor them.

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