General Health & Safety

With statistics showing that one in five children will grow up to develop skin cancer and that protecting skin from the sun during childhood and adolescence is important to reducing the risk of cancer later in life, it's vital that parents become educated about sun safety, take steps to protect their kids against the damaging effects of the sun and build safe sun habits into the family routine.

There is a general lack of first aid, injury recognition and management knowledge among high
school and youth coaches, with some youth sports programs lacking even a basic emergency
medical plan.

Diving injuries can result in quadriplegia (paralysis below the neck) to divers who hit the bottom or side of a swimming pool, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

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.

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,