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Safeguard your backyard

Make the most of your outdoor living space with these kid-friendly safety tips

By
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Originally published in Today's Parent April 2007

It’s spring: Time to fling open the doors and let your kids run wild in the safety of your backyard. Yeah, right. My most terrifying moments in parenting — rushing my four-year-old to the hospital after a branch penetrated his eye, and discovering my one-year-old had just sampled some poisonous nightshade berries — happened in my own yard. There’s no doubt the children can get hurt in the backyard, but with a few simple precautions you can help keep them safe.

Scout out the sandbox

Next to playdough, sand is probably my kids’ favourite non-nutritional snack, but it can harbour some grisly germs. Toxoplasmosis and roundworms — both parasitic infections — can get into the sandbox or garden soil through animal feces, and be passed to your child when he touches his mouth. Illnesses range in severity from mild flu-like symptoms, to more serious internal infections. If you suspect your child may have come in contact with one of these parasites, see your doctor.

Safety tips
• Cover the sandbox when not in use and replace the sand every two years or so. If the sand gets “contaminated” via a diaper mishap or neighbourhood animal, trash it immediately, give the box a good clean and add new sand.

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