Before you send your little ones out to enjoy summer's many activities, be sure your children know important safety tips to help make their playtime injury-free.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has devised a list of safety tips for use with in-line skates and skateboards -- products that are associated with a host of injuries each year.

In fact, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics show that more than 100,000 injuries related to in-line skates were reported last year; the cost of care was $4.2 billion. the greatest number of injuries occured among individuals age 14 and under, at a cost of more than $2.5 billion.

In addition, three out of every five skateboard injuries are among children under 15 years of age, and approximately 26,000 people with a skateboard-related injury are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year, the statistics show.

The Academy offered these tips to help your child minimize the risks of injury while skating or skateboarding:

Learn the basics of the sport, particularly how to stop properly, before venturing into traffic.

Wear a helmet, wrist protectors and knee and elbow pads.

Always put on protective gear before putting on your skates.

Perform warm-up exercises before and after skating.

Obey traffic signals, stay at the right side of the road, and don't weave in and out of lanes.

Avoid skating in crowded walkways.

Do not wear radio headphones.