Whether riding bicycles or skating, e-scooters, or roller blades, if your kids have an outdoor lifestyle, you need to be involved in their safety. This article will explore a few aspects of outdoor safety, allowing you to keep these in mind and plan accordingly.
Cultivate a Safety-First Mentality
One of the main aspects of safety that you and yours will need is the mindset. Many people who engage with outdoor activities and sport neglect their safety simply because they haven’t thought about it. It doesn’t cross your mind until something happens and there is an accident. Get your mindset right and encourage your children to understand and appreciate safety when engaging in outdoor activities and sport. It only takes a moment for an accident to occur, and although you don’t want to create anxiety, it is best to be prepared if you engage in outdoor, action-orientated activities.
What are the risks, and how to mitigate them?
Spending time in nature is a vital component of modern life, and many families choose to spend both time and money on the tools or accessories to make this lifestyle more enjoyable. The risks are dependent on the nature of the sport or activity that the young ones and you undertake. These could range from skating to riding your bicycles both at the local park as well as on trails and downhill tracks.
The key to remember, and what is emphasized in this article, is that the bicycle, the board, and any other wheels without the below-mentioned safety gear are simply an accident waiting to happen.
Helmet. The helmet is the most generic of safety equipment and will be needed from those white-water rafting to the youngest of children learning to ride a bicycle. Having one that will be comfy and fashionable as well as hard-wearing and protective is essential, and the Triple 8 sweatsaver is a great example that also keeps the sweat out of your eyes.
Knee pads, shin guards, and elbow guards. Again, these have often been neglected and not thought of as essential. It is not until you have a toddler with a badly scraped knee or elbow that you then think of the benefits of these simple safety articles.
Water bottle. It may sound like the strangest safety gear you have ever heard of, but dehydration when engaging in outdoor activities is a common occurrence and can have significant health implications. Make sure that you and your family have appropriate drinking vessels and are sure to keep well hydrated with water.
Life jacket. If your family exploits go anywhere near bodies of water, such as rafting, sailing, or surfing, and you must consider having the appropriate life jackets or vests that will ensure water safety.
These are three simple measures that you should be taking, dependent on what activities you and your family have chosen to engage in. There will be many more aspects of personal and family safety, but those mentioned herein are the ones that are most neglected and linked to the most amount of risk of injury.