By:  (Mothers Awareness on School-age Kids)

It can feel overwhelming trying to keep your child or adolescent safe. Use these seven safety tips for parents to help you feel secure about your child or adolescent鈥檚 safety both in and out of the home.

1. Tech

While advances in technology have created new safety hazards for our children, they have also created new ways for us to keep them safe. Programs like help you monitor your child鈥檚 internet usage in real time and programs like Circle can help you filter what you child is able to see, track their usage, and connect all the family鈥檚 devices to an app on a parent鈥檚 phone.

2. Alcohol & Prescription Drugs

It is important to keep both alcohol and prescription drugs locked up and out of your child鈥檚 reach. Make sure to have conversations about the dangers of abusing alcohol and prescription drugs with your child and ensure that you are modeling proper use of both. Always make sure you are properly disposing of drugs when you no longer need them to ensure that there is no chance of your child finding them.

3. Gun Safety

If there is a gun in the home, it is crucial that proper safety measures are in place. Teach your child that it is never okay to touch the gun. Lock up the gun and ammunition separately and ensure that the gun is only out when it is about to be used. When going to other鈥檚 houses ask if there is a gun onsite and make sure it is locked up before you go over.

4. Safety Around Water

Even if you don鈥檛 have a pool, drowning is still a danger. It is important that there is a sober adult watching kids when they are in the pool, bathtub, and even if they are playing with something like a bucket of water. Having a pool fence is essential to keep your child from accidentally falling into the water when you aren鈥檛 with them and having child locks on anything that is a drowning danger is essential.

5. Fire Safety in the Home

To help prevent fires make sure to never leave candles, fireplaces, or lit stoves unattended, and to keep combustible chemicals locked away. Make sure to talk to your kids about the dangers of fire and as they become old enough to cook, educate them on the importance of fire safety. Also make sure to test your fire alarms every month and have an escape plan in place just in case a fire does occur.

6. Relational Safety

When your kids start talking about relationships make sure to let them know about the dangers of online dating and teach them these tips to help them stay safe. They should never meet up with a complete stranger that they met online and if they do end up going out on a date with someone from a dating app it should always be in a public place in the daytime.

7. Physical Safety

Programs like can allow you to know where each member of your family is and can connect you and your children to resources in the case of an emergency. Technology like alarm systems and camera doorbells can allow you to keep your home and your family safe at all times. Teaching your child self-defense and talking to them about consent can also help keep them safe when they are out on their own.

 (Mothers Awareness on School-age Kids) is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization created in 2007 by a group of dedicated mothers who recognized the need to consistently educate families on rapidly changing issues. The MASK mission is to engage and educate parents, children and the community about the issues facing youth and to empower children to make safe, healthy choices.

MASK helps children learn invaluable life skills for how to cope with a number of issues including responding to peer pressure, dealing with trauma and technology-related challenges. In today鈥檚 viral and social media world, coping skills are more necessary than ever. MASK equips students to feel confident regulating their emotions, maintaining frustration tolerance, and setting healthy boundaries. MASK has served the community for over a decade, with the goal of strengthening parent-child bonds and empowering children to make decisions from a place of knowledge and confidence which will prepare them to thrive.

MASK fulfills its mission by engaging, educating and empowering families through the MASK E3 Institute, MASK The Magazine, an informative website, MASK Live segments through MaskMatters YouTube channel, and the MASKMatters App.

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Enjoying the cool splash of a swimming pool is one of the best feelings one could have during a heat wave, especially in the summer season. But the pleasure of the swimming pool comes with risks. To ensure your safety and the safety of the people around you, check out our tips and pool safety best practices for a fun summer.

Always Attend to Children & New Swimmers

Most people love to swim or want to give it a try at some point in life. Considering humans are not born swimmers like aquatic animals, it is important to monitor and guide new swimmers as they learn, especially children.

According to , children ages 1-4 years, followed by children 5-9 years, are most at risk for drowning.  The majority of the fatalities take place at home or at a pool owned by family or friends.  Because drowning can happen in a matter of seconds, it is important to stay vigilant anytime water is near.

One of the most important pool safety best practices is to make sure that someone always has an eye on kids and new swimmers in the water. We recommend assigning a 鈥渨ater watcher.鈥� A water watcher is the adult responsible for monitoring the pool and swimmers- like a designated driver. It is a good choice for a public or private swimming pool, even when there are lifeguards and other people present.

Avoid Drains

Swimming pools have drains that allow water and debris to flow out of the pool. Although drains are necessary to maintain a clean pool, swimmers should exercise caution around them. While swimming, hair, limbs, jewelry, or swimsuits can get stuck in drains or suction openings. This situation can be extremely dangerous, especially for children, as the swimmer may not be powerful enough to free themselves from the suction of the drain. Remind your swimmers to stay clear of drains and openings, and make sure that a water watcher is on hand in case someone needs help.

Install Safety Fencing Around Pool Areas

One step to prevent unattended children and pets from accessing the pool is to install barriers or fencing. In many communities, pool fencing is a requirement. In some cases, however, homeowners may need to add fencing if the home was built before pool safety requirements were in place. Check your local laws for guidelines on appropriate fencing to make sure your new or existing fence meets requirements.  recommends that fencing should be at least 5 feet or higher with tight spacing between vertical pieces.  This helps prevent children from climbing over the fence or squeezing through the vertical beams of the pool fence. 

Other protective measures such as door alarms, self-closing doors, and self-latching locks can further prevent access to the pool. Double check the perimeter of the fence to make sure there are no gaps or structures that can be used to breach the fence. 

Remember, pool fences and barriers are not 100% child proof- but they do provide an extra blanket of protection.

Provide Adequate Safety Signage & Warnings

A big part of pool safety is keeping it top of mind and reminding all swimmers and non-swimmers to be safe in pool areas.

Adequate signage should be made available, visible, and easy to understand for anyone in the pool area. These warnings and signs provide polite guidelines for new swimmers and children to help keep them safe while enjoying the water.

Select Personal Flotation Devices

Wearing life jackets or other personal flotation devices (PFDs) can be a great choice, especially for beginners and children.

Though these devices do not serve as a replacement to a lifeguard or water watcher, they can assist swimmers as they build their swimming skills and confidence. Ensure life jackets and PFDs are worn appropriately, whether in a personal or public swimming pool. Take care in selecting a life jacket or PFD that can support the swimmer鈥檚 weight and height.

Keep the Pool Area Clean

Our last pool safety best practice: dedicate a little time to keeping your pool and swim area clean. Dust, leaves, and other debris can make the area around the pool slippery, which poses a risk for falls and accidental dips in the pool.  Additionally, imbalances in chlorine and pH levels in pool water can be hazardous.  Frequently check both chlorine and the water鈥檚 pH level, especially during the summer.  The right balance is necessary to kill germs and keep your pool sparkling clean.

Have Fun!

Although this list does not include all the possible recommendations for pool use, we hope it reminds you to stay vigilant around water this summer.  With safety top of mind, everyone can enjoy their summer swimming experience to the fullest!

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