According to SafeKidsUSA, summer is the most dangerous time of the year for kids. SafeKids found that children will comprise nearly 3 million visits to the emergency room this summer, seeking treatment from accidents involving motor vehicle crashes, drownings, bike crashes, pedestrian incidents, falls and other hazards.

Follow these simple tips from SafeKidsUSA with your family to protect children from summertime risks:

• Actively supervise your child when engaging in summertime activities, such as swimming and playing on playgrounds and backyards.

• Use the appropriate safety gear for your child’s activities.

• Role model proper safety behavior. Children are more likely to follow safety rules when they see their parents doing so.

• If you have a pool or a spa, it should be surrounded on all four sides by a fence at least four feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates, and it should be equipped with an anti-entrapment drain cover and safety vacuum release system. An inflatable pool needs to be surrounded by a fence, just like any other pool, and parents need to empty these pools when not in use.

• Make sure your home playground is safe. Keep 12 inches safe surfacing, such as mulch, shredded rubber or fine sand, extending at least six feet in all directions around the equipment. Remove hood and neck drawstrings from your child’s clothing.

• Keep children away from the grill area while preheating and cooking, and while the grill is cooling.

• Remove potential poisons from your yard, including poisonous plants, pesticides and pool chemicals.

• Walk all the way around a parked vehicle to check for children before entering a car and starting the motor. Don’t let children play in driveways, streets, parking lots or unfenced yards adjacent to busy streets.

• Apply sunscreen rated SPF 15 or higher to your child’s exposed skin 15 to 30 minutes before going out, and reapply frequently.

• Make sure your child drinks plenty of water. A child who seems tired or achy should rest in the shade or go inside for a while. Get immediate medical help any time a child’s skin is hot to the touch (with or without perspiration), if a child has a seizure, or if they become disoriented in hot weather.

Active supervision, proper protective gear, and other simple prevention steps will help your child avoid danger. For more summertime safety tips, visit SafeKidsUSA.