L.A. Parent

Kids often don't think to rest when having fun and they may not drink enough fluids when playing, exercising, or taking part in sports. Children and teens also adjust more slowly than adults to changes in the environment and sweat less- which is essential for cooling the body down. Keep an eye out for heat symptoms and follow these preventative measures:

- Don't leave children alone in a car. Even if the windows are cracked open. This is a leading cause of infant death from heat illness in the U.S.

- Drink plenty of fluids during vigorous or outdoor activities (including sunbathing), especially on hot days. Drinks of choice include water and sports drinks. Don't drink fluids with caffeine, such as tea, coffee, and cola. These can lead to dehydration.

- Make sure your child dresses in light colored, lightweight, tightly woven, loose-fitting clothing on hot days.

- Schedule vigorous activity and sports for cooler times of the day. Take rest periods in shady or cool areas.

- Make sure your child is protected from the sun, wears a hat and sunglasses, and uses an umbrella. Use a sunscreen that is at least SPF (sun protection factor) 15.

- Increase time spent outdoors slowly to get your child's body used to the heat.

- Teach children to take frequent drink breaks and "wet down" or mist themselves with a spray bottle. This can help prevent becoming overheated.

- Student athletes need frequent breaks for water or sports drinks. Most athletes should drink about 1 cup of fluid (200 to 300 milliliters) for every 15 minutes of exercise.

- Try to spend as much time indoors as possible on very hot and humid days.

- Teach your child to warm up and cool down before and after exercising.

- If your child has a health condition or is taking medicine, talk with their doctor for more advice for preventing heat-related illnesses.

Advice from Nationwide Children's Hospital

As a tot, Jonny Pierce, now 24, loved to float with his ears underwater to drown out the everyday noise. Competitive swimming has turned out to be a helpful coping mechanism for his autism and hypersensitive hearing. On the other end of the spectrum, Kylie Cervantes, who has autism, used to hate having water on her face. With the care of her instructors in an adaptive aquatics program at Best Day Foundation, however, she ended up enjoying her first adaptive surfing experience at age 4. However they feel about swimming, children should learn to be safe around water. Studies show that children with disabilities are at greater risk of drowning than those without. “In water, even kids who can’t walk can be upright and move through the water to get to where they need to go,” says Teri Todd, Ph.D., director of clinical operations at the Center of Achievement, the adaptive aquatics program at Cal State Northridge. “If a child falls in a pool, they can come to the surface and move to the side of the pool.” The L.A. area has an array of adaptive aquatic programs that help kids learn to swim, be safe and have fun while strengthening their bodies.

https://www.laparent.com/splash-accessible-water-play-around-los-angeles-and-beyond/

Families got a first look at a new free educational app designed to make early math learning fun during a special launch event hosted by PBS SoCal at its Burbank studio June 13. The FAMILY MATH Play & Learn app introduces children ages 3-5 to foundational math concepts through interactive games, music videos and hands-on activities that parents and caregivers can enjoy alongside them.

About 30 content creators and their families attended the event, which featured learning stations, a life-sized FAMILY MATH board game, a cozy reading corner and a meet-and-greet with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Now available nationwide on iOS, Android and web platforms, the ad-free app is designed to help families strengthen early math skills at home through play-based learning experiences focused on concepts such as number sense, patterns, shapes, measurement and spatial reasoning.

You can access the app at the link below, happy learning!

https://www.pbssocal.org/familymathapp

Happy Father's Day to all the incredible dads out there, let's fill the comments with your favorite dad memories!

Happy Juneteenth! Today marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and slavery formally ended in the United States.

Check out our round up of Juneteenth events for community celebrations happening through the weekend.

Summer is in full swing and there is SO much to do! This what's on our L.A. Summer Bucket List, what's on yours? Let us know in the comments!

Juneteenth is this Friday; a holiday marking the formal end of slavery in the United States and the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. L.A. will be celebrating all week with music, education, kids activities and community celebrations.

Father's Day is this weekend and it's the perfect time to highlight local dads building community. Words by Jared Podos, father and founder of Dad’s Little Sidekick.

https://www.laparent.com/dads-little-sidekick-la-dads-community/

Looking for a family-friendly event to take the kids to this pride month? These festivals and activities are perfect for kids!