Summer vacation is here, along with long days of unstructured hours for kids to get themselves in trouble.
Two free summer health and safety fairs are scheduled on Thursday evening, which will highlight important precautions for summer, such as swimming and outdoor safety.
"Kids are home more, and some don't have as much supervision as they might would have other times," said Sharron Mitchell, manager of programs and development for the North Georgia Healthcare Center. "That's one of the reasons we do (the safety fair) at this particular time."
The events will be held at Rhea Medical Center in Dayton, Tenn., and the North Georgia Healthcare Center in Ringgold, Ga.
At the North Georgia center, presenters from local agencies will offer tips on playground safety, home fire safety and teen driver safety. The hospital will allow kids to sign up for swim lessons, as well as offer food and games, Ms. Mitchell said.
In Rhea County, presenters will cover safety issues ranging from hunting and bicycle safety to how to avoid heat stroke or dehydration. Food safety in the summer heat is also on the agenda, said Linda Blevins, outreach education coordinator for Rhea Medical Center.
"When people come in with upset stomachs, (we are unsure) whether it's because they let their mayonnaise-based items sit out for four to five hours in the heat," she said.
In the Rhea center, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Agent Anna Johnson will make a presentation on poison control, highlighting the need to keep poisons such as medicine and cleaning products out of the reach of children. Kids easily can mistake Tylenol for an Altoid breath mint or a cup of bleach for a glass of water, she said.
"We'll make parents aware that they need to store medications away under lock and key," she said.
She'll also explain how to identify poison ivy, poisonous snakes in Tennessee (the water moccasin, timber rattler and copperhead) and poisonous spiders (the brown recluse and black widow).
"The best way to remember poison ivy is, 'Leaf of three, let it be,'" she said.
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