CampingSupplyDiscount

© 2010 Diane Ursu
Found for you at: http://hikingbackpacking.suite101.com/article.cfm/child-safety-tips-for-camping

Camping trips filled with hikes, campfires, s’mores, and swimming with the family are magical experiences for kids. Unfortunately, while camping, some children develop bad habits that can not only give way to dangerous situations at the campground, but will carry into habits that can create dangerous situations in everyday life.
The following tips address situations that are commonly seen in campgrounds. Incorporating these tips into the family camping rules can help keep children safe. In addition, developing these habits will help them to become more considerate to their fellow campers.

Play in Camping Sites Instead of the Road
Campgrounds usually have several roads in and around the camping area. This is so campers can get to and from their campsites with their vehicles. Some parents allow their kids to play in these roads, but that is the wrong thing to do! Roads are never to be used as playgrounds. Children often do not look out for vehicles and frequently hold up traffic when playing in the road. Some children have a hard time deciding what they should do or where they should go when a vehicle comes up behind them. This often causes frustration for drivers, but more important, it can endanger the children.

Once a child incorrectly learns to play in the road, that child is more likely to run into the road without looking both ways. It is the parents’ responsibility to teach children never to play in the road. This is a steadfast rule to which parents should always adhere.
Children’s Bike Safety
By law, bicycles follow the same rules are automobiles. Unless otherwise determined by local law, all cyclists must stop for traffic lights and stop signs. They must yield the right-of-way when appropriate and ride as far to the right of the road as safely possible. This includes kids.
Parents argue that they would rather their children ride against traffic so that their children can see the cars, but some kids don’t do anything differently when they do see oncoming traffic while others choose to cross in front of the vehicle!
Riding against traffic significantly decreases reaction time for the driver, while riding with traffic significantly increases reaction time. This allows the driver more time to think and react if something happens to the cyclist, such as swerving into the middle of the lane or falling.
Fire Safety for Kids
Michigan’s State Parks have elevated fire circles that are designed to keep children from falling into the fire. Unfortunately, the fire circles were an expensive investment for the currently under-funded Department of Natural Resources and the design keeps heat from the fire from reaching campers who camp during the winter, but kids will always find ways to play with fire.
Children should be taught to never run within the vicinity of fires and to never play with fire. When sitting around the campfire and cooking food, parents should take the time to teach children to proper campfire safety precautions. In her April 23, 2009 Trails.com article, “Camping Safety Rules for Kids,” Joyce Starr says, “Children need to be made aware that playing with a fire pit area, even after the fire is out, can seriously burn them. Teach them to respect the fire and what damage it can also do to the forest around them, if not tended properly.”
Swimming Tips for Children
While private parks may have lifeguards, many public swimming areas do not. Parents should keep an eye on their children at the beach, especially when they are swimming. Children should wear weight- and age-appropriate flotation devices.
Like most everyone else, children learn through repetition. Parents are likely to be repetitive when teaching these lessons, but it is worth it. It is important to consistently teach and enforce good habits and to lead by example.
Camping is a great experience for children that they will always remember. They will look on it more fondly when their parents take the time to teach them safety rules, and they will pass these rules onto their children.