Heat Advisory Safety: Protect Your Child During Hot Weather

5 Tips to Keep Your Child Healthy in the Heat

Extreme heat can put children at serious risk, so it’s important to keep them safe when temperatures rise. Kids spend more time playing outdoors than adults, whether at home, school or on vacation, which increases their risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Without reminders to rest, drink fluids and limit activity, kids may forget to protect themselves.

It’s important to remember that children’s bodies are still growing and are more prone to the effects of extreme heat than adult bodies because they:

• Begin sweating at a higher temperature

• Lose fluid more quickly

• Produce more heat compared to their body weight

• Sweat at a lower rate

Fortunately, there are several ways to help children get the protection they need to stay safe and healthy in hot weather. Here are the top five picks from Children’s Nebraska experts.

1. Start Smart with Prevention

Plan their play to stay sun safe. Midday is when the heat is most intense. Plan to move outside activities indoors during the hottest part of the day — around 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Other ways to practice sun safety include dressing your child in protective, lightweight and light-colored clothes, staying in shady areas and wearing sunscreen.

2. Hydrate During High Temps

Children become dehydrated more easily than adults because their bodies lose fluids more quickly. Give your child plenty of fluids before, during and after high-temperature times.

It’s also best to avoid:

• Very cold drinks — with a child’s immature digestive system, very cold beverages can cause stomach cramps or rehydration to take longer.

• Drinks with too much sugar — they can slow down how fast your child’s body gets needed water, trick the brain into thinking it’s not thirsty anymore and make the child pee more.

The best choice, at any time of year, is plain water or water infused with fresh fruit.

3. Feed Them Cooling Foods

During a heatwave, it's okay to keep meals simple, cool and hydrating. And since heat lowers appetites, meals can be smaller and lighter, served more often and made with foods that are easier to digest. An added bonus? You’ll avoid heating up the house.

Fruits such as cantaloupe, watermelon, peaches and strawberries are refreshing and have high water content. Options like popsicles, frozen grapes and berries and smoothies are also a fun, hydrating treat for children.

4. Keep Medicines Out of the Heat

If your child takes medications, it’s important to remember that high heat can make a medicine less effective.

Consider:

• Storing your child’s medicines in an insulated bag when you’re out in the heat.

• Watching for signs that medicines have been damaged, including changes in color, taste, smell or consistency. If you believe a medication has been affected, talk about it with your pharmacist before taking it.

5. Know the Signs of Heat Illness

Even when you’re doing everything you can to keep your child safe, sometimes the heat can beat you to it and cause signs of illness in your child. It’s important to know what to look for, including:

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Flushed skin

• Headache

• Muscle cramps

• Weakness

The good news is that, when caught early enough, heat illnesses can be treated at home with rest and fluids.

When you have a strategy to keep your child healthy during hot days and heat waves, you’ll feel better, too. Children’s Nebraska is here to support your family every step of the way. For more information and to find a provider, visit our Children’s Physicians page and find a location near you.