Teach Your Child to Avoid Insect Stings and Animal Bites

When the weather gets nice (not too hot and not too cold), many kids hit the door and spend the evening playing outside. While you can supervise your children and keep them away from visible dangers, such as a busy street or a body of water, it is much harder to help your child stay away from dangers you might not see, such as insects. In addition, when children are out, there may be animals outside, too. The friendly neighborhood cat or dog can still bite when provoked. Here is a handy guide to help you avoid animal bites and insect stings on your child.

Mosquitoes may be the first type of insect you think of when you think about your child playing outside. They are everywhere and they can be hard to control. This is especially true for the summer and fall months. Your child can certainly avoid these pesky creatures by staying indoors, but this is not always as fun as playing outside. The first thing you want to do is to control the mosquito population in your yard by getting rid of stagnant water. Then you can help reduce the chances of getting a bite by applying a repellant such as "Off" on your child. If you are at home, you can also use citronella candles, which are a great way of warding off pesky biting bugs. When you purchase insect repellant, look for products that contain the chemical "deet". These are the products that will do a better job of repelling mosquitoes. This works well for not only mosquitoes, but also biting flies, horseflies and no-see-ums.

Wasps and bees are also pesky creatures that can leave a child (or adult) in tears. Most wasps and bees will not bother you if they are left alone. However, when these insects are provoked, either intentionally or unintentionally, you can expect a mad wasp! In order to avoid these insects, you should teach your children to leave them alone. Show your child pictures of a wasp nest so they know what it looks like. If your child enjoys playing or hiding in shrubs or trees, it is important that they know to leave wasp nests alone. Also, you may have heard that standing very still when one comes your way is a good way to avoid a sting. This is true. Teach your child to stand as still as a statue when a bee or wasp is in the area. Also, avoid wearing sweet smelling perfume or soaps when you plan to spend time outdoors. Bees are attracted to the smell.

If you and your child enjoy camping or hiking in tall grass, you might be concerned with ticks. Ticks are nasty little bugs that you certainly want to avoid. They have the ability to attach themselves to bare skin and will have to be removed. In order to avoid ticks, you must use insect repellant and clothing. It is always a good idea to cover the skin with long pants, socks and long sleeve shirts. If you find that you or your child does have a tick, you will need to take it out of the skin. The easiest method is to use oil such as vegetable oil or baby oil. Cover the area with oil and leave it for about thirty minutes. The tick will usually let go. Some people say that a swab of kerosene will work. If all else fails, remove the tick with tweezers, and wash and bandage the area.

Now think about animals. When you spend time outdoors, you and your child are likely to come in contact with some type of animal. You should always teach your child to leave any animal alone. Never touch or disturb a strange animal. Most animals will not bite or attack unless provoked. Teach your child not to stick their hands in holes where small animals or snakes may be living. In addition, be wary of a wild animal that acts tame. Squirrels and birds often show no fear to people because they are used to people. However, animals such as raccoons, bats, or skunks, should not act friendly. Animals with rabies may act strange, so it is best to leave these animals alone.

The outdoors is a wonderful place for children. To keep your child safe, be prepared and teach your children ways to avoid insect stings and animal bites.