The Oprah Winfrey Show
Outdoor Sports Safety

Sports and recreation are a big part of summer fun for kids, but for a parent this means the increased possibility for injuries. Find out some of the hidden dangers of outdoor sports, and how to protect your kids.

Sporting Safety
Dr. David Janda, author of The Awakening of a Surgeon offers the following tips to keep your child safe while playing sports:

Make sure your child's coaches are trained in CPR.
All softball and baseball fields should have breakaway bases. When the base is slid into, the top breaks away from the bottom, decreasing the possibility of broken bones or torn ligaments.
Younger children should train with lighter weight baseballs and softballs.
Batting helmets should be worn at all times; when batting, running or standing in the on-deck circle.
All fields should have padded goal posts.
Beach balls should be used in soccer "heading" drills.
Helmets should be mandatory for every family member when biking, skating or riding scooters.
Routinely monitor your child's sport practices.

Staying Safe on Scooters
Scooter It seems like they're everywhere — kids darting down sidewalks and streets on scooters. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends the following to prevent injuries:

Wear helmet, kneepads and elbow pads.
Never ride scooters in the street or near traffic, ride only on sidewalks or specified paths.
Make sure handlebars and steering column are locked in place.

Protection on the Playing Field
Karen and John AcomporaThe leading cause of children's fatalities in sports is getting hit in the chest with a ball. This statistic was painfully proven to Karen and John Acompora when their 14-year old son Louis died while playing lacrosse. The Acomporas believe that their son could have survived if a portable defibrillator had been available on the playing field. Their goal is to equip every school in the country with portable defibrillators, so this tragedy doesn't happen again. Learn more about their crusade at their web site: www.la12.org. From the show Summer Safety Reminders