How to Protect Children from Environmental Risks

Store food and rubbish in closed containers to keep pests from coming into and around your home.
Use baits and traps when you can; place baits and traps where kids can’t get them – also contact pest control specialists.
Read product labels and follow directions.
Store pesticides and toxic chemicals where kids can’t reach them – never put them in other containers that kids can mistake for food or drink.
Keep children, toys, and pets away when pesticides are applied; don’t let them play in fields and gardens after pesticides have been used for at least the time recommended on the pesticide label.
Wash fruits and vegetables under running water before eating – peel them before eating, when possible.

If a child has swallowed or inhaled a toxic product such as a household cleaner or pesticide, or gets it in their eyes or on their skin!

Call 999 if the child is unconscious, having trouble breathing, or having convulsions.
Check the label for directions on how to give first aid.

Don’t smoke and don’t let others smoke in your home or car.
Keep your home as clean as possible. Dust, mould, certain household pests can trigger asthma attacks and allergies.
Limit outdoor activity when air pollution is especially harmful.
Walk, use bicycles and take public transportation when you can.
Avoid open burning fires.

Have fuel-burning appliances, furnace flues, and chimneys checked once a year.
Never use gas ovens or burners for heat; never use barbecues or grills indoors or in the garage.
Never sleep in rooms with unvented gas or space heaters.
Install a CO alarm that meets British Standard Regulations.

Learn what’s in your drinking water – call your local public water supplier for annual drinking water quality reports.

Wear hats, sunglasses, and protective clothing.
Use sunscreen with SPF 15+ on kids over six months; keep infants out of direct sunlight.
Limit time in the mid-day sun – the sun is most intense between 10 AM and 4 PM.

If you are pregnant try to stay cool, stretch your legs and sip water more often than usual to prevent dehydration.
Infants and young children overheat quickly and are less able to adapt to extreme heat. Offer sips of water often.
Dress infants and children is loose, lightweight, light colour clothing.
Children may not ask for water and may not be aware that they need to cool down.
Never leave infants in a parked car.
Help children find places to cool off when they are overheated.
Ensure that children drink plenty of water before and after athletic events.
Monitor children, and even teenagers, for signs of heat-related illness, provide water, and have a plan to combat heat illness.
Seek medical care right away if your child has signs of heat-related illness.

Keep the ticks away from your child to prevent Lyme disease.
Have children wear protective clothing, such as socks, shoes and long trousers if possible.
Reduce tick habitats by keeping grass short and removing brush from play areas.
Parents should apply insect repellent rated for ticks on children. Always follow label instructions and avoid applying on hands or near eyes and mouth.
Check children for ticks after they have been outdoors, especially in wooded areas and meadows and especially from April to September.
Teach children how to check themselves for ticks, and what to do if they find one.
Have children bathe or shower after playing in woods or grassy fields.

Use insect repellents when your children play outdoors. Always follow the label directions.
Wear long sleeves and trousers from dusk through dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
Install screens on windows and doors.
Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home by emptying standing water from containers, flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers and keep doors and windows closed if possible after dark.