Safety Away From Home

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are off-road vehicles for recreational use. In most states, it’s legal for older kids and teens to ride them, even without a driver’s license. But with the thrills come major safety risks.

ATVs can be unstable and hard to control, particularly at high speeds. Rollovers and collisions happen often, and some of these are fatal. In a nearly 30-year study, experts report that almost 12,000 people were killed in the United States while riding these vehicles — and 25% were kids younger than 16.

Injuries from riding ATVs are common, too. Between 2001 and 2011, 33% of ATV-related emergency-room visits were in kids younger than 16. As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discourages kids ages 16 or younger from driving or riding on ATVs.

If you decide to let your child ride an ATV, make sure he or she follows safety precautions and understands how to safely operate the vehicle. While this helps to reduce the risk of injury or death, the only way to truly keep kids safe is to prevent them from riding ATVs.

What Are ATVs?

ATVs are motorized vehicles that are meant to be used off-road or on dirt roads, not on paved roads or highways. They usually have four large balloon-style tires, with a seat in the middle that a rider straddles while steering by the handlebars. There are still some three-wheeler ATVs around, but manufacturers stopped making them in 1988 due to concerns about stability and safety.

Weighing more than 800 pounds, ATVs have large, powerful engines that allow them to reach speeds of 50 mph or more. They have a high center of gravity and no roll bars, safety cages, or seatbelts, meaning they can tip easily, throw riders and passengers off, or even roll over on top of riders. This can cause serious injury or death, usually because of head injuries. Other common injuries include cuts, scrapes, broken collarbones, and broken arms and legs.

Who Can Ride (and Who Shouldn’t)

There are no federal regulations or age limits when it comes to riding ATVs. Instead, each state has its own guidelines and laws. Some states require ATV riders to be 16 years old and have a safety certificate. Other states allow kids as young as 10 to ride ATVs as long as they’re supervised by an adult with a valid driver’s license.

The AAP does not recommend ATV use for children and teens 16 or younger. ATVs can be too large for smaller kids to handle safely, even if it’s legal for them to be riding them. Safely operating an ATV requires the driver to make quick decisions, such as speeding up, slowing down, or shifting his or her weight in response to changes in the environment. Kids under 16 are unlikely to be able to make these choices or have the skills to carry them out.

If your child does ride an ATV, make sure you understand and follow the rules of your state. This applies even if your child won’t be steering the ATV. Many states don’t allow passengers to ride unless the ATV is specifically designed to carry two people.

Safety Guidelines

Kids age 16 and younger should not ride an ATV. To reduce the risk of an accident or injury, anyone riding an ATV should follow these tips before and during riding:

• Take a safety certification program to learn how to operate an ATV safely.
• Ride an ATV that’s right for your size and age. Visit 4-H ATV Safety for information on how to tell if an ATV is right for a rider.
• Always wear an approved helmet and eye protection. In many states, helmets and eye protection are required by law, particularly for kids.
• Wear long pants, long sleeves, gloves, and over-the-ankle boots to help prevent scrapes and cuts.
• Only ride during daylight hours.
• Always ride at a safe speed on a designated ATV trail.
• Know basic first aid to treat minor injuries, and be able to get help in an emergency.

It’s important to never do the following while riding an ATV:

• Never ride on a three-wheel ATV.
• Never ride while drinking alcohol or using drugs.
• Never ride on paved surfaces or public roads (except to cross them).
• Never exceed the limit of passengers allowed by the manufacturer.
• Never allow kids and teens to drive another passenger.

ATV riding will always be risky — and because they’re fun, many kids and teens will want to try them. There are no guarantees that kids won’t get hurt, even with precautions and protective laws in place. But by making sure that riders follow safety precautions and know how to use ATVs safely, parents can do their best to help protect them from being injured.

We’ll be taking a big family vacation in a couple of months. Do my kids need to get any special immunizations before we go?
– Doriana

If you plan to travel abroad or internationally it’s possible that your children — and you — will need additional vaccinations. Different countries have different health risks and may require specific vaccines. For example, your family will need the yellow fever vaccine if you’re traveling to tropical and sub-tropical areas in Africa or South America.

To find out which vaccines your family needs, ask your doctor or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for a list of recommended or required vaccinations (the site includes a section devoted to travelers’ health that you can search by destination).

Most immunizations should be given at least 1 month before travel, so try to schedule a doctor’s visit 4–6 weeks before your trip. This gives plenty of time for the vaccines to take effect, and allows for vaccines to be given over a period of days or weeks, if necessary. But even if you’re leaving in less than 4 weeks, you should still make an appointment, as kids might still benefit from shots or medications.

Depending on your travel plans, your doctor may recommend that in addition to routine immunizations, you and/or your kids be vaccinated against:

• typhoid
• yellow fever
• Japanese B encephalitis
• meningitis
• rabies

All kids get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at 12–15 months of age, but any who will travel outside the United States before that can get the vaccine as early as 6 months of age.

Kids of any age can get malaria, so if you’re traveling to a country with a malaria risk, talk to your doctor about antimalarial drugs.

And if you’re traveling internationally, be sure to take your kids’ immunization records with you when you go.

With all the sunscreens available these days (organic or mineral? water-resistant or sweat-resistant? lotion or spray?), choosing the right one for your kids can be tricky. But what matters most when picking a sunscreen is how well it protects skin from UV rays.

How to Choose

Look for SPF (sun protection factor) numbers on the labels of sunscreens. Select an SPF of 30 or higher to prevent sunburn and tanning, both of which are signs of skin damage. Choose a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays (usually labeled as a “broad-spectrum” sunscreen).

Sunscreen sprays are convenient but should be used with caution. For starters, sprays are easy to breathe in, which can irritate the lungs. Some sprays also are flammable, so you need to avoid sparks or flames when applying them and wearing them. And, sprays make it hard to tell if you have applied enough sunscreen, which increases the risk of sunburn.

Other things to consider:

• Don’t use sunscreens with PABA, which can cause skin allergies.
• For sensitive skin, look for products with the active ingredient titanium dioxide.
• If your teen or preteen wants to use a self-tanner sunscreen, be sure to get one that also has UV protection (many offer little or none).

Babies younger than 6 months should be kept out of the sun. When going outside, dress your baby in lightweight clothes that cover arms and legs — and don’t forget a hat. If you can’t avoid the sun, you can use a small amount of sunscreen on your baby’s exposed skin, like the hands and face.

How to Use

For sunscreen to do its job, it must be used correctly. Be sure to:

• Apply sunscreen whenever your kids will be in the sun. For best results, apply sunscreen about 15 to 30 minutes before kids go outside.
• Don’t forget about ears, hands, feet, shoulders, and behind the neck. Lift up bathing suit straps and apply sunscreen underneath them (in case the straps shift as a child moves). Protect lips with an SPF 30 lip balm.
• Apply sunscreen generously — dermatologists recommend using 1 ounce (enough to fill a shot glass) to cover the exposed areas of the body.
• Reapply sunscreen often, about every 2 hours. Reapply after a child has been sweating or swimming.
• Apply a water-resistant sunscreen if kids will be around water or swimming. Water reflects and intensifies the sun’s rays, so kids need protection that lasts. Water-resistant sunscreens may last up to 80 minutes in the water, and some are also sweat-resistant. But regardless of the water-resistant label, be sure to reapply sunscreen when kids come out of the water.
• Don’t worry about making a bottle of sunscreen last. Stock up, and throw out any sunscreen that is past its expiration date or that you have had for 3 years or longer.

Every child needs sun protection. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends that all kids — regardless of their skin tone — wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Although dark skin has more protective melanin and tans more easily than it burns, tanning is a sign of sun damage. Dark-skinned kids also can get painful sunburns.

And remember to be a good role model. Consistently wearing sunscreen with SPF 30 or greater and limiting your sun exposure will reduce your risk of skin damage and teach your kids good sun sense.

These days, almost every teen has many ways to get online: via smartphones, tablets, and laptops, all of which can be used in private. It’s very easy for teens to create and share personal photos and videos of themselves without their parents knowing about it.

Most of the time, this is no big deal. By sharing something with a friend, your teen could have a memory to enjoy forever. But if what gets shared is a little too personal, your teen’s reputation could be harmed. Even if the image, video, or text was only meant for one person, once it’s been sent or posted, it’s out of your teen’s control. It could be seen by lots of people, and it could be impossible to erase from the Internet, even after your teen thinks it has been deleted.

Any sort of photo, video, or message that shows someone doing or saying something embarrassing or offensive can be damaging to a reputation. But this is especially true if there’s nudity, sex, or sexually suggestive content involved. This type of sharing, known as “sexting,” has the potential to haunt a teen for the rest of his or her life.

What Is Sexting?

Sexting (or “sex texting”) is the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images, messages, or video via a cellphone or the Internet.

Examples of sexting include sending:

• nude or nearly nude photos or “selfies”
• videos that show nudity, sex acts, or simulated sex
• text messages that propose sex or refer to sex acts

Why Do Teens Sext?

Many girls sext as a joke, as a way of getting attention, or because of “pressure from guys.” Guys sometimes blame “pressure from friends.” But for some, it’s almost become normal behavior, a way of flirting, being seen as cool, or becoming popular. And teens get some reinforcement for that when lewd celebrity pictures and videos go mainstream and the consequences are greater fame and reality TV shows, not ruined careers or humiliation.

How Common Is Sexting?

It’s hard to know exactly how common sexting is among teens. Studies have found that about 1 out of every 5 to 10 teens — guys and girls — have sent sexually suggestive pictures. And about 1 out of every 3 to 8 teens have received them.

The studies focused mainly on pictures, not sexually suggestive comments, messages, or tweets. The percentage of teens involved in sexting goes up if written sexual content is included, but it’s not clear by how much. But one thing is clear: Sexting is relatively common among teens.

Consequences of Sexting

Teens should understand that messages, pictures, or videos sent via the Internet or smartphones are never truly private or anonymous. In seconds they can be out there for all of the world to see. If a compromising image of your teen goes public or gets sent to others, your teen could be at risk of humiliation, embarrassment, and public ridicule. Even worse, it could damage your teen’s self-image and possibly lead to depression and other mental health issues.

And don’t overlook the potential for legal consequences. In some states, a teen could face felony charges for texting explicit photos or even have to register as a sex offender.

Beyond that, questionable behavior online can haunt a college applicant or prospective employee years later. More and more colleges and employers check online profiles looking for indications of a candidate’s suitability — or giant red flags about bad judgment and immaturity.

What Parents Should Know

Teens’ decision-making skills, judgment, and ideas about privacy are still being formed. It can be hard for them to grasp the permanent consequences of their impulsive interactions. Just as they might not consider how smoking now can lead to long-term health problems, they can be reluctant to curb their “share everything” tendencies now for the sake of their reputations later.

One of the top responsibilities of parents is to teach their kids how to take responsibility for their own safety and their own actions. It’s important to send that message about the virtual world too. Even if a teen’s intentions are playful or harmless, if messages or pictures become public, the outcome can be anything but.

What to Say to Your Teen

It’s crucial to talk to your kids about how pictures, videos, emails, and text messages that seem temporary can permanently exist in cyberspace. One ill-considered picture sent to a crush’s phone easily can be forwarded to the recipient’s friends, posted online, or printed and distributed. Even an image sent to a boyfriend or girlfriend could lead to problems if someone else sees it or it’s distributed after a break-up. Intense peer pressure to take or send nude pictures will pale in comparison with the public humiliation that follows when the images land on Facebook or the cellphones of hundreds of other kids and even adults.

So how can you get through to your kids? The answer is to have open conversations about personal responsibility, personal boundaries, and how to resist peer pressure. Conversations like this should occur throughout kids’ lives — not just when problems arise.

Explain to your kids, early and often, that once an image or message is sent, it is no longer in their control and cannot be taken back. It can, and likely will, spread beyond the person who was meant to see it. Teach kids to follow the “WWGT” (“What would grandma think?”) rule. If grandma shouldn’t see it, they shouldn’t send it.

In the meantime, parents can make it clear that there will be consequences if their kids are caught sexting, such as taking away cellphones and computers or having limits to when and how they can use these devices.