For children and families, summer fun means being more active outdoors by playing sports and other recreational activities. But often, seemingly innocent summer activities can lead to accidents and injuries.  In fact, over 2.6 million children yearly are seen in emergency departments for sports and recreation-related injuries, says the CDC.

While every summer sport and activity is different, there many safety standards that apply to all activities. Before your family heads out for summer fun, review these tips to ensure a happy, healthy, and safe summer.

Summer Safety Tips

Use Correct Equipment

For parents with kids playing sports, it’s important to have and use the correct equipment for their size and sport. Sports-related injuries can be reduced when kids wear the necessary safety gear each time they play.

Be Prepared

Accidents happen, but it’s still good to be prepared for unexpected injuries. Ensure your kids are sufficiently prepared for fun with warmups before all activities. Kids should also go at their pace. Competition is healthy, but it can also cause some kids to push themselves to be the best player.

At the beginning of the season and after nearly a year hiatus, my competitive swimming teenager injured her spleen while attempting to push herself to become a better, faster swimmer during practices. To reduce injury risks, encourage kids to build speed and endurance gradually.

Understand Limitations

Teach kids to listen to their bodies and notify an adult if they feel pain or discomfort during the activity. Some kids don’t like to sit out sports but, pushing through injuries or pain can increase the severity and keep them from participating even longer.

Stay Hydrated

Encourage kids to drink plenty of fluids and take breaks while participating in strenuous activities. Kids increase their dehydration and other heat illnesses risks when don’t drink enough water, especially during the summer.  The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests kids drink water before, during (every 20 minutes), and after activities to ensure optimal hydration.

Get Medically Covered

As a parent, we should ensure our family is fully protected. Because injury risks are high with outdoor activities, it’s important that your family is medically insured before participating in summer activities. Should an injury occur, additional coverage like Aflac accident insurance, can help cover high out-of-pocket medical costs and expenses so you and your family can concentrate on recovery – not bills.

Plan for Unexpected Expenses

Most families carefully budget their money throughout the year. Some even put a little aside for an upcoming vacation or the unexpected bill.  But, what about unexpected medical expenses?

A common injury like a broken leg can cost over $4,700! A recent study showed only 38 percent of people had saved enough money to cover unexpected medical expenses, like an ER visit. High medical bills can cause financial hardships and the inability to pay for expenses like groceries or childcare. Aflac accident insurance can help cover out-of-pocket medical expenses like deductibles and copayments, as well as daily expenses FAST with Aflac’s new One Day Pay^SM promise.

Visit Aflac’s accident insurance page for more information on accident policies: http://clvr.li/1fmvzQH.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.