Summer Saftey
My four year-old seems determined to be a billboard for summer safety issues this year, and it's not even summer yet.
First there was the sunburn he got two weeks ago. Now, I'm normally downright obsessive about putting sunscreen on my kids, but that particular Saturday, I had gotten one of those inflatable pools for him that had about a dozen different components to inflate before filling the actual pool. The drat thing had a leak in one the seems before we even filled it. I probably should have returned it for a new one right away, but there was no guarantee that the next one wouldn't have a leak as well. This one already had eleven out of the twelve compartments ready for water, so I patched it and filled it up. Needless to say, it was a longer project than I imagined for a $20 pool.
Meanwhile, my eager four year-old had already put his swimsuit on and stood outside patiently with his Icelandic white shoulders exposed to the sun for forty minutes. By the time I put the sunscreen on him, he already looked a little pink. His sunburn never looked that red, but it took nearly two weeks to quit peeling.
Then last week, he was singled out for attack by an air force of mosquitoes. He had only been outside with my eight year-old, who didn't receive a single mosquito bite, for ten minutes. By the time he came inside, he had four mosquito bites on his forehead, two on his neck, two on his legs, and two on his arms. According to my eight year-old, the mosquitoes started buzzing around my four year-old's head, so eight year-old started shooting at the mosquitoes with his water gun, not knowing that this would only attract them more. By the next day, my four year-old's had such a strong histamine reaction, his head resembled a balloon. Thank goodness for Benedryl and ice packs.
The lesson for this week: SUNSCREEN and MOSQUITO REPELLENT. Pass it on.
Posting a comment requires free registration:
- If you already have an account, follow this link to login
- Otherwise, follow this link to register