At Liberty Science Center, students have the opportunity to sit front row and see what it’s like to be a surgeon. LSC’s Live From Surgery programallows students to watch surgeries in real time, and participate by asking questions and getting a first-hand look at the medical equipment being used. Who knows, there might even be some future surgeons or doctors sitting in the audience!

Since a new year has just begun, we chatted with Dr. Samara Friedman – a pediatric orthopedist and one of the surgeons in the program – about making resolutions for a safer, injury-free 2017. No bones about it: Dr. Friedman has seen it all, and offers these five tips for parents on how they can help their kids prevent injuries in the year ahead.

1. Be mindful of playground safety…especially on the slide.

Parents should avoid going down the slide with a toddler on their lap, Dr. Friedman says. It might seem fun and cute, but injuries from this particular activity happen way more frequently than people realize.

“The toddler’s foot can get stuck between the side of your leg and side of the slide,” says Dr. Friedman. “What will happen is that their foot will twist and they’ll end up with tibia fractures.”

2. Watch out for the monkey bars, too.

“Kids who are under eight years old should stay off the monkey bars unless there is an adult standing underneath them to spot them,” Dr. Friedman says.

In fact, Dr. Friedman says the most common surgery she has to perform on children is elbow fractures. The culprit? Monkey bar mishaps!

3. Make sure your child stretches before and after playing sports.

When it comes to playing sports, stretching is crucial, Dr. Friedman says.

“There are a lot of injuries that happen to tight muscles that can be reduced if you stretch adequately,” says Dr. Friedman. Mainly, Dr. Friedman recommends that kids stretch the quadriceps in the front of their thigh, the hamstrings in the back of their thigh, and the gastrocnemius muscle in the back of the calf.

If your child is playing an upper body sport, like tennis or baseball, they’ll definitely need to stretch their arms too.

4. Be wary of year-round sports.

When children play the same sport year-round, their muscles become overused from constantly doing the same thing, says Dr. Friedman. That can lead to overuse injuries.

“Switching sports throughout the year is a great idea,” Dr. Friedman says. “Then you’re using different muscle groups and using muscles differently. Kids need to take a break from abusing certain muscles in their sport.”

5. Kids need rest.

Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But Dr. Friedman says that often, kids will come into her office expecting her to “wave a magic wand” and fix any injuries they might have.

“The sooner you rest, the less rest you’ll probably end up needing,” Dr. Friedman says. “If you’re injured and immediately jump back into a sport, you may end up needing even more months of rest.”

Here’s to a safe, injury-free 2017! If you want to see Dr. Friedman speak at Liberty Science Center – preferably, instead of at her office as an injured patient – learn more about LSC’s Live From Surgery program.