Holiday temptations warrants caution The bliss of the summer holidays is sometimes transformed into a perilous season for children, where danger lurks in every corner. A whole gamut of factors sometimes combine to create this. Not every parent, for example, can afford to send their kids to a $2,000 a week summer camp. Some opt instead, to leave their young children at home, alone, or in the care of an older sibling. Some do so with life-long regrets, especially if things go horribly wrong. Sometimes they do go wrong. On July 13, 1996 seven children were roasted when a three-family house in Lennox Bigwoods, Westmoreland went up in flames. In August 1998, seven-year-old Dwayne Paris, spending the summer holidays with his grandmother on Bay Farm Road, St. Andrew was hit by a Nissan truck while attempting to cross the road. On June 30, 1997, eight-year-old Monique Douglas was electrocuted at home. Less than 10 days later, 10-month-old Daniel Graham met a similar fate. On July 23, 1999 Jamaica College schoolboy Kemar Williams died from injuries sustained in a swimming pool at the University of Technology. Some children will, therefore, find themselves alone during summer, as their parents go to work. "How do you tell someone who lives from pay cheque to pay cheque to stay home to take care of the kids?" Sharon Gilzene, a social worker of the Ministry of Health, said last week. "You can't balance a child against a pay cheque, not realistically, but some parents are just caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, they want to go out and earn money, but they are afraid of what might happen to their children. These parents might not have another relative for the children to stay home with but there is a need for some system to be put in place," she said. "We need to address the situation with respect to adults with children, who can't afford to send the kids to summer school, or who can't find a relative to send the children to." Ms. Gilzene stressed awareness and vigilance on the part of the parents to ensure the children's safety. "To their credit, especially during the summer, parents tend to be more careful, especially when they go to beaches, but there is still a need to have reminders of how important it is to observe child safety practices," she said. Here are a few reminders from the Ministry of Health as to how children should be supervised during the summer: 1. Children should be supervised at all times by responsible adults. In the event that no adult is at home, parents should ensure that the kids attend a reputable summer camp or school, where they can be supervised by adults. They should not go to rivers, beaches and other such sites alone. 2. Keep all medication and cleaning agents locked away in the home. 3. Lock away matches and keep children away from stoves. When cooking, turn the handles of pots inwards so that small children will not be able to grab them and turn over the contents on themselves. 4. Do not leave drums or other large containers with water open. Close and cover them tightly. Children are active and very swift, and will do things in the absence of parents, which they would not normally do in their presence. 5. Do not store dangerous chemicals in drinks bottles. Label all containers carefully. 6. Keep emergency telephone numbers handy for the hospital, fire station, police, and your place of work. Think of possible emergencies, and discuss with the children whom they should call first. 7. Strangers should not be allowed inside the home when parents are away. 8. Make sure that community play areas are secure. It is inevitable that some children will end up playing in the street, this should be discouraged as much as possible. C.M.
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