Health & Safety

Pool and spa drains pose a serious risk of body entrapment and hair
entanglement, particularly to children, but are preventable hazards if
safety precautions, including the use of special drain covers, safety
vacuum-release systems (SVRSs), and other pressure-venting
fitler-construction techniques are used, say the Consumer Product Safety
Commission and The American Academy of Pediatrics. 

More 350 infants and toddlers drown in swimming pools each year nationwide, the majority in the summer months of June, July and August; most in backyard pools.  Here are some swimming pool safety tips from the  Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 350 children under the age of five drown in pools each year nationwide, the majority in June, July and August; most in backyard pools. Among unintentional injuries, drowning is the second leading cause of death to this age group after motor vehicle accidents. Another 2,600 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for near-drowning incidents.

Women and girls are more prone to ACL injuries than men and boys but the risk can be reduced if athletes perform warm-up, stretching, strengthening, plyometric, and sport-specific agility exercises before sports.

Baseline and post-concussion neuropsychological (NP) testing is now recommended for all athletes in sports with a high risk of concussion (e.g. football, lacrosse, hockey, soccer, basketball), regardless of age or level of performance, but the timing and type of testing may need to be adjusted for children and adolescents.

An emergency medical plan should include an established set of actions to follow in the event of a medical emergency during a youth sports practice or game.

James C. Koslowski of the National Recreation and Parks Association believes that participants in youth programs are owed the following legal duties...

No youth sports team or competition should be without a first aid kit designed to treat the most common injuries and illnesses that might be encountered.

Parents need to be pro-active about safety by insisting that the directors of the youth sports program in which their son or daughter participates puts safety at the top of their list,

Overuse injuries have become commonplace among young athletes in the last decade (although "Little League elbow" has been a problem for decades). They are not the kind suffered by children and adolescents engaging in free play or "pick up" games, but are clearly a product of the organized youth sports boom. The damage to hard and soft tissues resulting from undetected, unreported and often untreated overuse injuries can be permanent and lead to problems later in life, such as arthritis.