In these uncertain times, the start of summer — marked unofficially by the just-passed, long Memorial Day weekend — may have caught more than a few of us by surprise. Seasonal health and safety precautions, however, should be well considered and carefully carried out, especially by parents. All of us, for example, must step up….
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Some thoughts about Independence Day in the thrall of a pandemic
The United States heads into a long weekend celebrating 244 years of its independence in the deepening thrall of a microscopic killer. And political partisans, with their failure to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, will push further still in the days ahead to divide what has been a remarkable, diverse union of states. Unlike virtually….
Continue ReadingPotomac River tragedies offer warning about summer water safety hazards
At least three recent deaths in the DC area offer a grim reminder about the summer’s heat and the risks of drowning. With the Covid-19 pandemic changing the easy and relaxed availability of public and supervised pools and other cool water recreation spots, will this be a harbinger of needless tragedies? Here’s hoping not. But….
Continue ReadingIn season of higher risk for kids, cautions about mowers and pool chemicals
As the nation slips into summer and the statistical 100 deadliest days for kids, there are some timely reminders about keeping youngsters safer around swimming pools and the chemicals used with them and protecting them from the harms of riding mowers when the devices are run in reverse. The Red Cross, of course, reminds that….
Continue ReadingIn renewed call for baby walker ban, a reminder how hazards hang around
Little ones may prove to be a handful to get around, but grownups need to be wary of products to make babies mobile. Child safety advocates have not only re-upped their warnings, in particular, about infant walkers, but based on a new study of data from hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits between 1990….
Continue ReadingPool safety in question after near-drowning in DC public pool
After a 7-year-old girl was found unconscious at the bottom of a public swimming pool in northeast Washington, D.C., on Labor Day, pool patrons immediately questioned how it was that another swimmer, and not a lifeguard, was the rescuer who saw her and pulled her to safety. The lifeguards did administer resuscitation to the girl,….
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