Most kids get to experience the adventures and excitement of going to an amusement park several times in their childhood. Many vacations and even daycare or school outings include a special day at a local amusement park, and the attractions, food, sights, and sensations leave kids begging for a return visit. Since most parks are open year-round, there's always a reason to celebrate! But parents and child care providers should take extra precautions to ensure the visit is planned around child safety to make sure the experience is not just fun but safe as well.


Here are tips (some of them from saferparks.org) to keep in mind:

• Be a cautious consumer. Use the same judgment in picking rides as you would when selecting toys, activities or food for kids. Read height and weight guidelines and don't try and "cheat" the system. Remember that these restrictions are based on safety reasons, and the joy of a 3-minute ride isn't worth risk of possible injury or worse.
• Observe the ride with your kids first. Children should know what they will be experiencing and know how the ride may dip and turn, swing or sway, go high or drop suddenly. Answer any questions kids may have.
• Don't force kids to ride rides that frighten them. Kids should never be forced to ride a ride they are fearful of. Well-meaning parents could traumatize them and let's face it, kids who become almost paralyzed with fear, scream, or become hysterical, aren't having a good time. Ride operators report that many kid injuries needlessly occur when a child attempts to get off the ride or move erratically while the ride is in motion. Keep in mind that there is always next time when they may feel ready!

• Never leave kids alone to watch while you ride a ride. It's difficult to juggle riding rides when one child wants to ride something and another doesn't. But young kids should have an adult chaperone with them at all times. Don't fall into the, "Stay here while I ride this ride with your brother and I'll be right back." Too much can happen.
• Establish a meeting place as you go through each section of the park. It is easy to become separated from your child, especially in large, crowded amusement park settings. Establish a easy-to-see place for each area of the park "just in case." Don't just point to an attraction and say to meet over there. Instead, walk with your kids and show them specifically where to meet (such as wait by this tree). Show kids what employees look like and any park security as well. Make sure they are well aware of stranger danger practices and to not to leave the established meeting site for any reason. A park employee or security should be willing to wait with your child at a designated place if you and your child become lost as long as it is for a short amount of time only. Some larger parks have a "lost parents" section for kids and adults who become separated.
  
  
• Ask a lot of questions before letting your child go to an amusement park on a group-sponsored field trip. It's not unusual for daycare centers to plan field trips during the summer or holidays in which they are open, for schools to have trips to an amusement park as a reward for a great year, or even churches to plan youth outings. But before you pay money and sign a permission slip, ask a lot of questions first. What is the adult-to-child ratio? How will these adults keep herd of the kids? Is there someone with medical training? How is money handled? What are their lost child practices? Ask these questions and more and make sure you are comfortable with the responses before you agree to the field trip.
• Remind kids again...and again...about keeping their hands and feet safely inside the equipment. Injuries can sometimes occur when kids try and stick out their hands and feet and get them hurt in the process.
• Know your child's swimming ability and water comfort before choosing water rides. Water parks also feature fast-moving rides that can result in getting soaked or perhaps even dropped into a pool of water at the end of the ride. Make sure kids know how to hold their breath, are comfortable with sudden splashes, and won't panic when dropped into the pool from a slide. If so, this may not be the year to go to a water park...or else make sure there are plenty of kid-friendly places to have fun at.
• Trust your instinct about rides and ride safety. Be extremely cautious about letting kids ride on neighborhood carnival rides or equipment that makes sounds or appears old or run down. The rides involve heavy machinery and a certain risk in the unlikely event something should happen. If a ride's appearance makes you uncomfortable, don't hesitate in declining to put kids on the rides...even if they nag and beg to do so. Keep safety first!