Summer Challenges: Safe Movement for Children During Heat Waves

11.07.2025 | Health and fitness

Experts from the World Health Organization are raising alarms about critical risks to children's health during summer activities, offering specific prevention and safety strategies.

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Summer vacation harbors hidden dangers for adolescents, which require special attention from parents and educators. Medical specialists emphasize the exceptional sensitivity of children's organisms to extreme temperature conditions.

Leading experts in child health developed comprehensive guidelines for safely spending leisure time in nature. The key recommendations include:

• Spatial planning of activities – mandatory search for shaded locations, especially during the most intense afternoon hours between 11:00 and 16:00

• Permanent hydration regime – consuming liquids at short intervals of about 20 minutes, regardless of the feeling of thirst

• Precise clothing selection – light, breathable clothes and mandatory protective elements such as wide-brimmed hats

• Preventive sun protection by using high-efficiency creams with a minimum protective factor of SPF 30, applied before exposure outdoors

• Careful selection of play areas – avoiding surfaces with high heat-accumulating capacity such as asphalt or artificial grass

The Active Kids research program confirms that 60 minutes of daily physical activity guarantees optimal physical and mental development in adolescents.

Leading pediatric cardiologist Dr. Antoaneta Kuzmanova categorically emphasizes: "Children need controlled and age-adapted motor activity, especially under extreme temperature conditions."