Keep safety in mind while your children play this summer

Little trips to the park, playing in the neighborhood or just hanging upside down on the backyard swing set - all are signs that summer is here and school is out.

Keeping your children safe while they're playing is probably one of your top concerns this summer. So make sure you plan ahead to be prepared for any falls and skinned knees.

* Pack a small kit filled with first aid supplies, and take it everywhere you go. Essentials you'll need include: bandages, hand sanitizer, anti-itching creams and pain killers. If you have additional room, you could always add motion sickness medications, tweezers, an instant cold pack and antihistamines to reduce nasal congestion and swelling.

* Practice bike safety. Helmets, mirrors, lights and other safety equipment can help protect your child from minor to severe injury if she were to fall off her bike or crash into something. If she is small and riding on a short bike, consider attaching a tall flag to the back of the bike so drivers can see her.

* Repeat the safety training for other activities. Skateboards, inline skates, baseball and even horseback riding all have safety equipment options such as helmets, knee, elbow and wrist pads and even mouth guards to help keep your child safe.

* Review the playground equipment you have in your backyard. The winter weather may have damaged some of the equipment, or even made it unsafe for a child to play on. Keep your kid's home safety in mind, reviewing exposed fasteners like screws and bolts for rust, the amount and quality of woodchip material underneath the structure, the chains holding swings and even the structure itself for scrapes, holes or dents in the materials.

* Establish backyard game rules. Hide and seek is a favorite childhood game, but it could lead to serious problems if you don't establish child safety rules. Always have your children tell you when they're playing hide and seek, and determine where the boundaries of the game should be located. A second rule to help keep your children safe is to create a code word to announce that the game is over, and that all children playing can come out of hiding. Finally, consider investing in tiny whistles that all players can keep for the game. This way if the boundaries of the game become too large for children to hear the code word, or if a child feels she is being threatened in some way, the sound of the whistle can attract attention from a long distance.

In addition to making rules for the game, also review all the potential hiding places in your house and backyard. Childproof any old appliances they could crawl into, and warn your children not to crawl into these unsafe hiding places.

You'll have tons of fun playing with your children this summer, especially if everyone is able to stay safe and sound.