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Summer is a time for lazy days at the swimming pool, grilling out on the back patio, and playing baseball in the yard. It’s also the ideal time for getting away from work for a few days and taking the family on a vacation. But before you load up the family car, it may help to take a crash course on safety.
5 Tips for Summer Vacation Safety
Believe it or not, summertime is a magnet for injuries, accidents, break-ins, and the like. If you want your family vacation to be peaceful and enjoyable, rather than unruly and dangerous, take some time to prepare. Here are just a few tips you can use to stay safe:
1. Prep Your Home for Your Absence
While the average person uses the summer as a chance to relax and vacation, burglars use it as an opportunity to get to work. Break-ins and burglaries peak during the summer months and, if you aren’t careful, your home will become a part of this statistic.
Before leaving for your summer vacation, get your house in order and take the necessary home safety precautions. This may look like setting light timers to make it appear that you’re home, asking a neighbor to get your mail, locking all doors, and turning off the main water supply (to avoid a major disaster).
2. Get Off Social Media
There’s nothing inherently wrong with using social media on your vacation. In fact, it’s nice to be able to provide friends and family with pictures and updates of your trip. But what you might think is an innocent update could actually be all the information a burglar needs to execute a successful break-in on your property.
These days, burglars are high-tech. They’ve learned to use social media as a tool for identifying when people are home and when they’re away. To avoid ending up on the wrong side of this equation, make sure your profiles are private and that you never post specific details about your location.
3. Separate Cash and Cards
When traveling in busy urban areas or certain foreign countries, you have to be extra cautious about your belongings. Savvy criminals implore a number of tactics to pickpocket and steal from unsuspecting tourists and you don’t want to become their next victim.
In addition to being cognizant of where you’re placing your wallet and/or purse, make it a point to separate your cash and cards. This ensures that you aren’t without money, even in a situation where you’re targeted by a criminal.
4. Look Out for Drowning
Whether it’s a swimming pool, the lake, or the ocean, summer vacations are often spent by water. If you have young children, it’s absolutely imperative that you understand the signs of drowning (even if they can swim).
Contrary to what most people think, drowning doesn’t usually involve a lot of flailing and screaming. Instead, the individual drowning typically can’t speak or wave for help. They may instinctively extend their arms to the side and press down on the water, or keep their mouth at water level with the head tilted back and mouth open.
5. Have an Emergency Plan
Whenever your family is in a new place, it’s a good idea to have a plan for what you’ll do in an emergency. Particularly, you need to establish protocol for what happens if the family becomes separated. Pick a meeting spot, ensure kids have phone numbers memorized, and discourage panicking.
Keep Your Family Safe
Summer vacation may be a time for you to zone out from work and slow down for a few days, but you shouldn’t use it as an excuse to become aloof to what’s happening around you. Keep your family safe by being proactive and alert.
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This content made possible by site supporter Larry Alton.
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Photo credit: Pixabay