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Don’t Let Children Get Beat By The Heat
 

 
Daily Bread
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
Psalm 136:1
Parents should take a few precautions when heat and humidity hit peak levels.

You can always count on two things during summer in the South – heat and humidity. The third thing you can count on is that children love to play outside. Outdoor activities are a wonderful form of physical exercise, but parents should take a few precautions when heat and humidity hit peak levels.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents take these steps:

  • The intensity of activities that last 15 minutes or more should be reduced whenever high heat and humidity reach critical levels.
  • At the beginning of a strenuous exercise program or after traveling to a warmer climate, the intensity and duration of exercise should be limited initially and then gradually increased during a period of 10 to 14 days to accomplish acclimatization to the heat.
  • Before prolonged physical activity, the child should be well hydrated. During the activity, periodic drinking should be enforced, for example, each 20 minutes, five ounces of cold tap water or a flavored sports drink for a child weighing 88 pounds, and nine ounces for an adolescent weighing 132 pounds, even if the child does not feel thirsty.
  • Clothing should be light-colored and lightweight and limited to one layer of absorbent material to facilitate evaporation of sweat. Sweat-saturated garments should be replaced by dry garments.


Published: July 28, 2005
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics


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