Childproof Your Summer: Wakeboarding
Keep your kids safe without spoiling summer fun:
1. Prep for the aerials. When his son took up wakeboarding in 2003, William Carson couldn't help but notice all the little kids at the marina wearing knee braces. The Tampa orthopedic surgeon surveyed more than 150 of his peers nationwide to see if they were treating wakeboarding injuries. They were. The most common: tears of the ACL (the ligament that keeps your knee from hyperextending), shoulder dislocations, ankle sprains or fractures, and ruptured eardrums.
Wakeboarding, a combination of water-skiing, surfing, and snowboarding, was the top growth sport in 2006 on the annual survey by American Sports Data Inc., which monitors participation in more than 100 sports and fitness activities. The appeal: a large boat wake that catapults the boarder high enough—in theory—to perform all sorts of dizzying flips and spins. Unlike water skis, the board's bindings don't always release in a fall, which may account for the high incidence of acl tears. Carson advises would-be boarders to prep by doing leg presses, lifts, lunges, and step-ups and using a rowing machine. A life vest, of course, is a must.
Other ways to childproof your summer:
1. Wakeboarding • 2. Trampolines • 3. Sunscreen • 4. Drowning • 5. Internet Safety • 6. Exercise• 7. Vaccines • 8. Bug Spray • 9. All-Terrain Vehicles • 10. Medications at Camp • 11. Hydration • 12. Amusement-Park Rides