Safety

The recent death of twenty-six-year-old open water swimmer Fran Crippen during a competition in Abu Dhuabi was a tragedy and a hard thing for parents and children to digest, but it also provides a teachable moment, providing parents a good opportunity to start a dialogue with their kids about sports safety and risk taking.

A common saying in the cycling world is "It's not if you're going to crash, but when." Crashing is just part of cycling. Experience, skill and some luck can certainly help cyclists avoid crashes, but at some point, if you're riding your bike, you're going to crash. And when you do you are going to get road rash, abrasions from falling off your bike and making contact with the pavement or some other surface.

When skin and pavement meet, you will want to be prepared to treat your child's road rash with current cleansing and dressing methods.  Here are first aid tips for the home medic.