There has been much attention on families and children taking part in outdoor activities. It shows that children are so important and the empathy the world feels towards the parents in the situation. Two main stories are, the child in the gorilla pen and the child attacked by an alligator. Below are five quick points when taking children on a family outing:

• For a younger child (this can be by age or maturity) put her in a pushchair or use a hand sling in a space that is high risk.

• Risk assess your environment all the time. Ask yourself, ‘Can I manage the child or the children properly within this space and be in control?’

• When taking children out, always have an adult in the front and at the back of the group. Most schools outing implement this tactic. This ensures you have all the areas covered.

• Children are very fast; you do not know what they are thinking, so be fast and be ahead of them. See what will be of interest to your child before your child sees it and be prepared beforehand.

• Lastly, before leaving the house, talk to your child about being safe and staying with you at all times. This can be impossible but by identifying the personality and behaviour of each child, you already know who likes to wander off and who likes to stay in the safety net.

Enjoy your summer outing with the children but please safety comes first