PLANTATION, Fla. – If you’re a parent of a young child, going to the park is likely part of your routine.
Odds are you’ve often thought about these two things: the heat and the germs.
Local 10 News looked into what cleaning measures are in place and whether parents need to be taking their own safety measures to keep kids safe.
As we all know, the South Florida heat is no joke, but sometimes going to the playground is the only option to get your child outside.
“I normally like to bring him early in the day. It depends on what our morning is like,” said parent Mary Salenieks.
Local 10 News spoke with Dr. Tamara Levene from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to get the best safety tips on how to keep your child protected while out in the sun.
“Avoid sunlight between 10 and 2, it’s best to go into shade, park with shade, keep well hydrated (and take) frequent water breaks and apply sunscreen,” she said. “If your kid is asking for water, they are significantly dehydrated. Also look at urine. A dark color is a sign of dehydration.”
Now that we’ve got you covered on the heat, how often have you wondered if your child is bringing home germs from a day at a public playground?
“The way kids get sick (is they) touch high-touch surfaces and then touch their face without washing hands and contract germs,” said Levene.
There are 42 parks in Plantation alone, and they all have different cleaning schedules.
If you think once a week isn’t enough, Dr. Jheanelle McKay, also with Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, said it is helpful, and if we teach our kids proper hand hygiene we can somewhat minimize the exposure.
“We can’t protect our kids from every germ, that’s a part of growing up, but at least going forth with tips might prevent how often they get sick,” she said.
McKay said don’t stop taking your children out to play in fear of them getting sick, just take some extra precautionary steps.
“You’ve got to keep some sort of Lysol or hand sanitizer, you have to use it, keep it handy,” she said. “If not, we would get the whole house sick.”