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Fitango EducationHealth Topics

Safety

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Overview

Injury is the #1 killer of children and teens in the United States. In 2009, more than 9,000 youth age 0-19 died from unintentional injuries in the United States. Millions more children suffer injuries requiring treatment in the emergency department. Leading causes of child injury include motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires, and falls.1 Child injury is predictable and preventable. It is also among the most under-recognized public health problems facing our country tod

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Overview

Progress has been made in preventing child injury. Child injury death rates have decreased 29% in the last decade.2 Yet injury is still the leading cause of death for children and teens. More can be done to keep our children safe.

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Burns

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like burns, is a step toward this goal.

Every day, over 300 children ages 0 to 19 are treated in emergency rooms for burn-related injuries and two children die as a result of being burned.

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Burns

Younger children are more likely to sustain injuries from scald burns that are caused by hot liquids or steam, while older children are more likely to sustain injuries from flame burns that are caused by direct contact with fire.

Thankfully, there are ways you can help protect the children you love from burns.

Prevention Tips

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Burns**To prevent burns from fires:**

**Be alarmed**

Install and maintain smoke alarms in your home—on every floor and near all rooms family members sleep in. Test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they are working properly.

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Burns**Have an escape plan**

Create and practice a family fire escape plan, and involve kids in the planning. Make sure everyone knows at least two ways out of every room and identify a central meeting place outside.

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Burns**Cook with care**

Use safe cooking practices, such as never leaving food unattended on the stove. Also, supervise or restrict children’s use of stoves, ovens, or microwaves.

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Burns**To prevent burns from scalding water:**

**Check water heater temperature**

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Burns**To prevent burns from scalding water:**

Set your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Infants who aren’t walking yet can’t get out of water that may be too hot, and maintaining a constant thermostat setting can help control the water temperature throughout your home—preventing it from getting too high.

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Drowning

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like drowning, is a step toward this goal.

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Drowning

When most of us are enjoying time at the pool or beach, injuries aren’t the first thing on our minds. Yet, drownings are the leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4, and three children die every day as a result of drowning.

Thankfully, parents can play a key role in protecting the children they love from drowning.

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Drowning

Prevention Tips

**Learn life-saving skills**

Everyone should know the basics of swimming (floating, moving through the water) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

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Drowning**Fence it off**

Install a four–sided isolation fence, with self–closing and self–latching gates, around backyard swimming pools. This can help keep children away from the area when they aren’t supposed to be swimming. Pool fences should completely separate the house and play area from the pool.

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Drowning**Make life jackets a "must." **

Make sure kids wear life jackets in and around natural bodies of water, such as lakes or the ocean, even if they know how to swim. Life jackets can be used in and around pools for weaker swimmers too.

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Drowning**Be on the look out**

When kids are in or near water (including bathtubs), closely supervise them at all times. Adults watching kids in or near water should avoid distracting activities like playing cards, reading books, talking on the phone, and using alcohol or drugs.

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Falls

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like falls, is a step toward this goal.

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Falls

Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. This adds up to almost 2.8 million children each year.

Thankfully, many falls can be prevented, and parents and caregivers can play a key role in protecting children.

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Falls

Prevention Tips

**Play safely**

Falls on the playground are a common cause of injury. Check to make sure that the surfaces under playground equipment are safe, soft, and well- maintained (such as wood chips or sand, not dirt or grass).

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Falls**Make your home safer**

Use home safety devices, such as guards on windows that are above ground level, stair gates, and guard rails. These devices can help keep a busy, active child from taking a dangerous tumble.

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Falls**Keep sports safe**

Make sure your child wears protective gear during sports and recreation. For example, when in-line skating, use wrist guards, knee and elbow pads, and a helmet.

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Falls**Supervision is key**

Supervise young children at all times around fall hazards, such as stairs and playground equipment, whether you’re at home or out to play.

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Poisoning

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like poisoning, is a step toward this goal.

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Poisoning

Every day, over 300 children in the United States ages 0 to 19 are treated in an emergency department, and two children die, as a result of being poisoned. It’s not just chemicals in your home marked with clear warning labels that can be dangerous to children.

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Poisoning

Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well. Active, curious children will often investigate—and sometimes try to eat or drink—anything that they can get into.

Thankfully, there are ways you can help poison-proof your home and protect the children you love.

Prevention Tips

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Poisoning**Lock them up**

Keep medicines and toxic products, such cleaning solutions, in their original packaging where children can’t see or get them.

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Poisoning**Know the number**

Put the nationwide poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every telephone in your home and program it into your cell phone. Call the poison control center if you think a child has been poisoned but they are awake and alert; they can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and your child has collapsed or is not breathing.

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Poisoning**Read the label**

Follow label directions and read all warnings when giving medicines to children.

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Poisoning**Don’t keep it if you don’t need it**

Safely dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs and over the counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements. To dispose of medicines, mix them with coffee grounds or kitty litter and throw them away. You can also turn them in at a local take-back program or during National Drug Take-Back events.

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Read Traffic Injuries

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like road traffic injuries, is a step toward this goal.

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Read Traffic Injuries

Every hour, nearly 150 children between ages 0 and 19 are treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes. More children ages 5 to 19 die from crash-related injuries than from any other type of injury.

Thankfully, parents can play a key role in protecting the children they love from road traffic injuries.

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Read Traffic Injuries

Prevention Tips

One of the best protective measures you can take is using seat belts, child safety seats, and booster seats that are appropriate for your child’s age and weight.

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Read Traffic Injuries**Know the Stages:**

**Birth through Age 2 **

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Read Traffic Injuries**Know the Stages:**

– Rear-facing child safety seat. For the best possible protection, infants and children should be kept in a rear-facing child safety seat, in the back seat buckled with the seat’s harness, until they reach the upper weight or height limits of their particular seat. The weight and height limits on rear-facing child safety seats can accommodate most children through age 2, check the seat’s owner’s manual for details.

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Read Traffic Injuries**Between Ages 2-4/Until 40 lbs**

– Forward-facing child safety seat. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (the weight and height limits on rear-facing car seats can accommodate most children through age 2) they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in the back seat buckled with the seat’s harness, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of their particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds; many newer seats have higher weight limits-check the seat’s owner’s manual for details).

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Read Traffic Injuries**Between Ages 4-8 OR Until 4'9" Tall**

– Booster seat. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats (by reaching the upper height and weight limits of their seat), they should ride in belt positioning booster seats. Remember to keep children in the back seat for the best possible protection.

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Read Traffic Injuries**After Age 8 AND/OR 4'9" Tall**

– Seat belts. Children should use booster seats until adult seat belts fit them properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (not the neck). When adult seat belts fit children properly they can use the adult seat belts without booster seats. For the best possible protection keep children in the back seat and use lap-and-shoulder belts.

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Read Traffic Injuries**Back Seat is Safest. **

All children younger than 13 years should ride in the back seat. Airbags can kill young children riding in the front seat. Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat or in front of an air bag. Place children in the middle of the back seat when possible, because it is the safest spot in the vehicle.

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Read Traffic Injuries**Sign a Driving Agreement**

If you’re a parent of a teen who is learning to drive, sign an agreementwith them to limit risky driving situations, such as having multiple teen passengers and driving at night.

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Read Traffic Injuries**Helmets can Help**

Children should wear an appropriate helmet any time they are on a motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, scooter, or skates.

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Sports Injuries

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent injuries from sports and recreation activities, one of the leading causes of child injury, is a step toward this goal.

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Sports Injuries

Taking part in sports and recreation activities is an important part of a healthy, physically active lifestyle for kids. But injuries can, and do, occur. More than 2.6 million children 0-19 years old are treated in the emergency department each year for sports and recreation-related injuries.

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Sports Injuries

Thankfully, there are steps that parents can take to help make sure kids stay safe on the field, the court, or wherever they play or participate in sports and recreation activities.

Prevention Tips

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Sports Injuries**Gear up**

When children are active in sports and recreation, make sure they use the right protective gear for their activity, such as helmets, wrist guards, knee or elbow pads.

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Sports Injuries**Use the right stuff**

Be sure that sports protective equipment is in good condition and worn correctly all the time—for example, avoid missing or broken buckles or compressed or worn padding. Poorly fitting equipment may be uncomfortable and may not offer the best protection.

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Sports Injuries**Practice makes perfect**

Have children learn and practice skills they need in their activity. For example, knowing how to tackle safely is important in preventing injuries in football and soccer. Have children practice proper form – this can prevent injuries during baseball, softball, and many other activities. Also, be sure to safely and slowly increase activities to improve physical fitness; being in good condition can protect kids from injury.

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Sports Injuries**Pay attention to temperature**

Allow time for child athletes to gradually adjust to hot or humid environments to prevent heat-related injuries or illness. Parents and coaches should pay close attention to make sure that players are hydrated and appropriately dressed.

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Sports Injuries**Be a good model**

Communicate positive safety messages and serve as a model of safe behavior, including a wearing helmet and following the rules.

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Suffocation

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent the leading causes of child injury, like suffocation, is a step toward this goal.

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Suffocation

When a child is unable to breath, also known as suffocation, it can be scary. Infants are most at risk for suffocation while sleeping. Toddlers are more likely to suffocate from choking on food and other objects, like small toys.

Thankfully, parents can play a key role in protecting the children they love from suffocation.

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Suffocation

Prevention TipsCreate a safe sleeping environment. Place infants on their backs on a firm surface every time they are laid down for sleep. The safest place for infants to sleep is in a crib or bassinet—not in the same bed as parents. Keep soft objects like stuffed animals, blankets, and loose bedding out of cribs. Do not put objects such as mobiles above cribs.

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Suffocation

Stay safe during meal and play time. Cut or break age-appropriate food into small bite-size pieces. Always supervise infants or young children during mealtime. Encourage children to chew their food thoroughly and to swallow it before talking or laughing. Also, children should not eat while playing or running. Read the age recommendations and choking hazard labels on toy packaging to determine suitable toys for children.

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Suffocation

Learn basic first aid and CPR. Knowing how to safely remove food and small objects from the airway and how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can save a child’s life. Learn basic first aid and CPR and get recertified every 2 years.

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Resources

MedlineSafe Kids USA