Finney Injury Law - August 2019

YOU’RE GETTING VERY SLEEPY ...

ESTABLISHING A BEDTIME ROUTINE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

Between vacations, bonfires, and sporting tournaments, your children’s sleep schedule probably went on break when they did this summer. With school fast approaching, it’s vital to get your kids back on a proper sleep schedule. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, getting enough sleep can significantly improve a child’s growth and cognitive function. But getting a restful night’s sleep is easier said than done when kids have had almost complete freedom for three months. Try these tips to get your kids snoozing through August and prepared for school.

a habit.” If your kids have been going to bed late this summer, set a time when they must go to bed, but don’t make it too far off the time they have been regularly hitting the hay. If they shuffle off to bed around 10 p.m., push their bedtime to 9:45 p.m., and then push it back to 9:30 p.m. one week later. Slowly work your way back to an appropriate time, and bedtime will be easier when school starts. Though the days may be getting shorter, it’s still relatively light out at night, making it nearly impossible for your kids to doze off when they should. Sleep experts recommend creating a sleeping space that mimics a cave: dark, cool, and quiet. This means sunlight shouldn’t sneak into the room, and the home should be MAKE IT EASY

a quiet zone after bedtime. No one wants to sleep while everyone else is having fun, so it’s important that everyone in the home is quiet at bedtime.

JUST RELAX

This is a rule your family should follow year-round, not just when you want to reestablish a routine. At a certain time each night, begin the nightly wind-down. For example, at 8 p.m. shut off your screens, put on pajamas, and engage in a relaxing activity, like reading a book or doing some yoga. Signaling to your body and your family that it’s time for bed will help your kiddos, and you, fall asleep at an appropriate time.

START EARLY AND GO SLOWLY

When practicing this tip, think of the old adage: “It takes 21 days to break

SUMMER CAMP INJURY CASES UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN, UNNECESSARY ACCIDENTS

When a parent drops a child off at summer camp, their biggest worry is if their child will be safe. We want to believe that the people watching our kids will provide them all the attention, supervision, and guidance they need. Sadly, it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, summer camp staff and the organizations who employ them don’t do enough to create a safe environment. Our legal code contains provisions to hold these institutions accountable when children are needlessly injured. Summer camp injuries to children fall under the category of premises liability law. In essence, premises liability law states that the owner or occupying tenant of a piece of private property has a legal obligation to keep said property safe. As such, when a person is injured at a business, they may have a right to hold the owner liable. One important factor in doing so involves proving the business in question was or should have been aware of the hazard that caused an accident. Premises liability law affects any business open to the public like shopping malls, restaurants, retail stores, and summer camps.

In regards to the child injury claims, summer camps may be held responsible if they failed to provide adequate supervision to children. When a child care institution lacks oversight of the children in their care, it’s known as negligent supervision. It’s important to note that not all injuries a child sustains at camp are the result of malice or carelessness on behalf of the camp or its team. If your child attends a football camp and gets hurt doing a drill, that is hardly the fault of the camp. However, if the injury occurs because kids were allowed to take to the field unsupervised, you may have a case. Often, these cases are not black-and-white matters and will require a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding a child’s injury. No parent wants to receive the call that their child has been injured while at summer camp, especially if the injury could have been prevented. If your child has been injured while in the care of others, be it at summer camp or anywhere else, call our office at 314-334-1814 to find out how we can help.

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