During the summer children are at a higher risk of injury due to the expanded leisure time, said Director of Emergency Services at Highland Community Hospital Robin Montalbano, and the best time to educate parents and children is now.

The Highland Community Hospital is holding their fourth annual Pediatric Safety Fair June 25, in the Hospital parking lot to educate not only the parents and children, but also their caregivers and anyone else interested in learning how to avoid the dangers associated with summer activities.

“The fair is going to be so much fun. We have great events and gifts but truly helping prevent bad situations is the drive. One life makes it worth everything and if I can help save that life, my summer will have had purpose. The fair is a great time for families but it is also something that can prevent unintentional injuries and even deaths. More than 12,000 children 0-19 years-old die annually due to preventable injuries and we see a spike in the summer months,” said Montalbano.

Also, for the first time, the MDOT will be demonstrating real-life scenarios with their seatbelt simulator and roll over crash simulators, Montalbano said.

“The simulators are a great way to demonstrate the importance of safety. It will show the kids in a safe manner the consequences of not wearing your seatbelt while in a vehicle,” said Montalbano.

The seatbelt simulator is a single car seat with a seatbelt. Kids must be 80 pounds to ride the simulator and it demonstrates the actual impact of a low speed crash and how important a seatbelt is even in those scenarios, Montalbano said.

However, the roll over simulator in a non-participant machine that will demonstrate the effect of a collision on an unrestrained occupant. Montalbano said there is a dummy inside the car that will provide a good insight of what could happen when the use of a seatbelt is neglected.

“We also have the Picayune Police Department, Fire Department and AAA that are bringing their emergency vehicles for kids to explore and learn more about. Plus, there will be the Rescue-1 helicopter that will be present for kids to climb in and see first-hand what it looks like,” said Montalbano.

The fair is free to the public and will consist of many safety information tables supplying families with important information and give-a-ways like helmets, water guns, sunscreen, floaties, beach balls and many more, Montalbano said.

Some of the safety tables include bicycle, fire, boating, distracted driving and summer safety tips.

Other events will be going on during the fair, like finger printing, proper car seat installation by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department and face painting.

The fair begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at noon.