Safety Reminders:

Swim Safely | Actively supervise your child in and around water. Surround pools and spas completely with a fence at least 5 feet high with gates that close and latch automatically. When your child is on a boat, participating in water sports, or near open water, make sure his or her life jacket is on.

Wheel Safely | Make sure your child wears a helmet and other protective gear whenever he or she bikes, skates, or rides a scooter. Teach your child the rules of the road, including stopping at all stop signs and red lights. Assure that the helmet and bike is the right size for your child and properly adjusted.

Play Safely | Actively supervise your child on the playground. Make sure your child wears the right protective gear, properly fitted, when practicing and playing team sports.

Walk Safely | never let your child under 10 years of age cross the street alone. Teach them to cross the street at the corner, using traffic signals or crosswalks, and make eye contact with drivers before crossing. Dress them in reflective materials and have them carry a flashlight at dawn, dusk, and in rain or fog.

Ride Safely | Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats as long as possible, and at least until 12 months old and 20 pounds. Children who weight 20 to 40 pounds should be correctly secured in a forward-facing car seat. Children over 40 pounds should be correctly secured in a booster seat or other appropriate child restraint until an adlut safety belt fits correctly - at least 4 feet 9 inches tall and at least 80 pounds.

Excerpted from "Summer Is the Deadliest Time of Year For Kids," p. 13, Southwest Washington Family Magazine, June 2008.

Local Summer Sanity Savers for Free or Under Five Bucks

Contributed by Neli VonWald and her neighbor, Holly.

Chehalis Sprinkler Park | Penny Playground, Chehalis | Borst Park, Centralia | Lattin’s Cider Mill and Press, East Olympia | Tumwater Falls Park/Tumwater Historical Park | Olympia Farmers Market | Sand in the City, Port Plaza, Olympia | Timberland Library – don’t forget your summer reading program! | Dollar Store Scavenger Hunt – give your child a buck or two and see what they can find! | Fire Station Tour | Seminary Hill Hike | Shafer County Park | Centralia Train Station/Chehalis Steam Train | Visit a Nursing Home – do a craft project and have kids take to home and share with residents. | Build a fort in the yard – THINK BIG and creative!! | Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt – for older kids, have them find specific brands and sizes. | Millersylvania State Park/Swim Beach | Watch the planes take off/land at the Centralia-Chehalis Airport | Run/walk a marathon over the course of the summer.

Ten Ideas for Indoor Fun!

Here are a few ways to keep cool with your preschooler when the weather's too hot!

Draw together. Have cookies and milk. Camp in your Living Room. Play with Play-Doh. Play dress up. Chase each other around the house. Make up funny stories together. Play in the tub. Paint with pudding finger paint. Cook up a fun and unique meal, like green eggs and ham!

Excerpted from "10 Ideas for Indoor Fun," by Melanie Clark, p. 24, MOMSense Magazine, July/August 2008.

Summer Boredom Busters

Make real people puppets by cutting out photos of family members and friends and gluing them to Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors.

Hide your preschooler's stuffed animals around the house - under the bed, peeking around a chest, or in a closet. Turn off the lights and use a flashlight to go on a "safari" to capture the animals.

Spray-paint 10 2 liter soda bottles to make bowling pins. Put a little water or sand in each to weight them down. Then grab a ball and turn your patio into a bowling lane.

Make quick costumes from old pillowcases. Cut a hole for your child's neck and arms. Kids can decorate their "costumes" with markers, paint, fringe, or lace. Ribbon or yarn can be used for a belt. Pretend characters are unlimited.

Punch holes in the bottom of an oatmeal or shoe box, then shine a flashlight toward the ceiling in a darkened room (this is excellent for toddlers who resist nap times).

Adapted by Kathy Peel from "The Family Manager's Guide to Summer Survival" (Fairwinds Press, 2006), as excerpted from "Kathy Peel: America's Family Manager," p. 6-7, MOMSense Magazine, May/June 2007.