KOTA Territory NewsChildren First: summer safety for kids

Children First: summer safety for kids

With summer approaching, children head outside to play.

And without school to soak up hours of the day, kids have more time and more opportunities to put themselves in harm's way.

Angela Reckard's kids love the summer. Once they're out of school, she said, they pick up "swimming, playing outside, riding bikes -- the normal kid stuff."

Kody Lamb added to the list "camping, four-wheeling, the whole nine yards."

But as fun as those things can be, they all carry substantial risks if kids don't know how to be safe while doing them.

"Safety awareness is not done enough in an activity-oriented event," said Teddy Araas, executive director of the Sheridan Wellness Council. 

So Araas helped put on the first ever Safe Kids Day Fair in May.

There were 25 things on an activity list. If kids got stamps from all of them, they could enter into a drawing to win prizes ranging from bikes to video games.

The activities include things such as ATV safety, hiking and trail safety, and fire safety.

"The kids learn it," said Araas. "They help take care of the parents."

But the parents picked up a few safety tips of their own.

"I liked the search and rescue tent they had down there," Lamb said, "because that's actually one where I learned a little bit about things to do."

Things to keep kids safe while they're having fun in the summer sun.

Organizers hope to make "safe kids day" an annual event.

Click here for more information on how to keep kids safe this summer.