Winter Sports Safety 101

Winter Sports Safety Tips

1. Use appropriate and properly-fitted sports gear to prevent or reduce the severity of injuries. For winter sports, this gear may include shin guards, mouth guards and especially helmets when they’re skiing, snowboarding or playing ice hockey. Based upon recommendations made by the CPSC, we recommend using either a skate style helmet approved to ASTM F1492 or a ski/snowboard helmet approved to either ASTM F2040 or EN1077. While we are unaware of any sledding specific helmets, any of these helmets or a CPSC bicycle helmet would be better than no helmet in many sledding accidents.

2. Encourage kids to drink plenty of water before, during and after play. Compared to adults, children are at increased risk of dehydration—and yes, it can happen even in cold temperatures.

3. Wear warm clothing and use sunscreen. It’s also a good idea to have kids come indoors periodically to prevent hypothermia or frostbite –hot chocolate and marshmallows is a great way to lure them in.