Psst… Summer is sneaking up on us! Are you prepared?

I mean that literally, not like in a “do you have popsicles and activities for bored, cranky kids” way. I mean are you Prepared. Because with shorts season, comes summer knees. Those kids who knew how to walk like perfectly normal humans all winter are suddenly going to spend months scraping every last spec of skin off of their knees.

They will get paper cuts on the books you insist that they read.

They will get blisters digging holes in the sand on what was supposed to be a relaxing beach day.

They will get stung during peaceful picnics.

Are you prepared for the inevitable chaos???

Is your First-Aid kit stocked?

Have you filled your freezer with bags of frozen peas, despite never eating peas?

Have you dragged your half dead aloe plant into the light in the hopes of combatting the inevitable sunburn? (Ok, maybe that plant is all of the way dead. Feel free to add aloe to your shopping list. Still counts!)

What about the hand sanitizer or wet-wipes? Because the season of every kind of sticky-melty-sugar filled sweet is rapidly approaching. As well as the calls of “Why on earth would you touch that?!?” from baffled parents everywhere.

Is the emergency outfit stuffed in the trunk of your car three sizes too small for your kid? Because they are about to go sit in a river without any thought of the two hour drive home.

Don’t sit over there pretending that your kid hasn’t done all of that too…

Or if they haven’t, go find yourself some blog full of perfect families whose children dress all in white without ever getting their clothes dirty, because you are clearly not my target audience haha!

If you did find any of this relatable though, here’s a list of what I keep in my first aid kit.

-Bandaids of all kinds, from little butterfly ones to giant rectangular ones you can cover a big scrape with.

-Gauze. Rolls and pre-cut squares.

-Several kinds of tape. Paper medical tape and a waterproof one at least.

-Scissors. Dedicated ones for the first aid kit. I wrote on this pair with permanent marker so that no one would walk off with them.

-Tweezers.

-Individual alcohol swabs.

-Small spray bottles of both rubbing alcohol and peroxide. (These are kept on the shelf above the first aid kit, because if I am being perfectly honest I use them more often on my laundry then on people.)

-Antibiotic ointment.

-After bite. I have also had something specific for stronger stings in the past.

-A thermometer.

-Some cooling packs.

-Gloves.

-An herbal salve my sister made that is good for skin irritation.

-We also have come tensor bandages and a wrist brace as someone in the house is prone to those sorts of injuries, as well as a burn kit that we keep near the stove. There is a small but comprehensive kit in out car, and mini ones in our backpacks.

This is what I keep on hand. What about you? What is always empty at your house? Do you regularly stock something that is not on my list?

If you think you’d find it helpful to have a free printable checklist so that you know what to re-stock, let me know!

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