Series offers tips on summer safety

Getsemani Uriostegoi, 10 months, is held by her mother, Miriam, as she cools off at a water fountain during a Fun in the Sun class graduation on May 31 at Bob Baskin Park. Shelly Donahue/View Advertisement

Summer will always bring heat to Las Vegas. Children will always be curious. Mix the two together and perhaps there can be cause for concern.

United Medical Center of Southern Nevada's Family Resource Center addressed those potential concerns with a three-part summer safety series called Fun in the Sun.

Classes ended with a May 31 graduation celebration at Bob Baskin Park. In one of the recent classes, Tim Syzmanski, public information officer for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, and Dr. Jennifer Kim, a pediatrician from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, addressed about a dozen parents who attended with their babies and toddlers.

Syzmanski, an emergency medical technician for 35 years, discussed drowning. Literature handed out gave the alphabet of pool safety -- A for adult supervision; B for barriers -- pet doors were cited as a reason to fence off the immediate pool area; C for classes, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and D for devices that help children float or rescue them when they don't.

Syzmanski called drowning the "silent killer," as children will simply sink below the surface without splashing or calling for help. "When your child is missing, the pool should be the first place you look," he said.

Kim stressed that parental supervision at the pool be pro-active. "Don't be on the phone or reading a book. Always have your child in sight," she said.

In addition, the speakers said heat inside cars can be deadly within five minutes, so the class advised parents to never leave a child alone in a parked car.

As parents learned about various safety issues, the children were busy with coloring books, junior fire helmets and toys brought from home. One child's mother, Lorena Delgadillo, agreed her son was a handful, and said "My eyes are always looking at Julio."

Venia Conte brought her daughter Lorelei, 20 months. Asked about her biggest safety concern, she said "accidentally ingesting something. She puts everything in her mouth, and it's scary what people drop out of their purses. I've seen all sorts of things, even (prescription) pills, on the ground."

Attendees learned that wearing a hat can reduce the risk of cataracts later in life by up to 60 percent, that ultraviolet rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and to protect skin with a sunblock rated SPF-30 or better.

"Get the spray-on kind," Kim suggested. "It's fun for kids to put on and that means they're more apt to use it."

Keeping matches and cigarette lighters away from children also was brought up. Syzmanksi said to think of them as being as deadly as handguns.

For more information about UMC's Family Resource Center classes, call 383-2229.