We're expecting some high temperatures in West Michigan this week, and it's a good time to refresh on ways to make sure your kids are staying safe if they're spending time outside.
RELATED: HEAT WAVE: Hottest stretch of 2024 starts Sunday
We talked with Dr. Erica Michiels, an attending pediatric emergency physician with Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.
She told us, children are more sensitive to dehydration, and tend to be underhydrated in general. It's important to be an advocate for your child by providing them a way to hydrate, reminding them to hydrate, and helping them cool off. Most importantly, you need to check in with younger children, who may not realize they're getting sick.
"I think it's important to remember one of the major problems with kids and heat is taht they don't necessarily verbalize how they're feeling, or they can't verbalize how they're feeling if they're quite a bit younger," Dr. Michiels said, "And so whereas an adult may recognize the symptoms, verbalize the symptoms, kids are often just going to go until they can't go anymore."
Warning signs include:
- Child is sweating profusely
- Big, bright red cheeks
- Breathing heavy
- Heart beating fast
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
- Biggest red flag: any signs of confusion
Confusion is a major sign of heat exhaustion. At that point, you may need medical intervention.
Dr. Michiels says the good news is, it takes about 20-30 minutes for a child to cool off, and then they should be feeling better.
Help your child cool down:
- Always have a cool environment available for kids exercising outside - a shady area or air conditioned space
- Make sure there is access to hydration - a salt-containing fluid like Pedialite or Gatorade
- The break should last until child is no longer showing symptoms of overheating
It's recommended children 9-12 years old drink 3-8 oz. of a hydrating liquid for every 20-30 minutes of ourdoor play. That changes after adolescence. At that point, it ups to between a liter and a liter and a half for every 20-30 minutes of high exertion in an outdoor athletic setting.
Dr. Michiels says parents often ask what they can do to prevent their child from having a heat-related illness on the sports field, besides being at baseline hydration.
"It's important to know there isn't any magical thing you can do beforehand," she says, "This is really about heat exposure, time and exertion...You can be smart about when your child is exercising outside and making sure you are rotating kids out. You're providing hydration and providing a place to cool off."
