Children’s Safety Tips To Prevent Accidents and Injuries
As summer approaches, parents will be gearing up for summer vacation. While warm weather provides plenty of opportunities for your child to play outside, it is important to take the steps needed to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring. The following outlines the types of injuries that children of all ages are most susceptible to as well as tips you can use to help keep your child safe.
Common Childhood Injuries
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that childhood injuries are an unfortunately common occurrence, sending more than 9 million children to hospital emergency rooms each year. Accidents can result in injuries that are severe, potentially disabling, and in some cases, even life threatening. Common causes of childhood injuries include:
Motor vehicle accidents: The CDC reports that car accidents are the leading cause of accidental death and injury for children between the ages of 5 and 19.
Falls: Slip and fall injuries impact nearly three million children each year, and are responsible for 50 percent of all fatalities in children under the age of one.
Being struck by or against an object: Often the result of pedestrian and bicycle accidents, this is a leading cause of injury for children, from toddlers through to teens.
Accidental drowning: While a serious concern for children of all ages, children under the age of four are at an increased risk.
Tips To Prevent Childhood Injuries
To keep your child safe and to prevent accidents and injuries at any time of year, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following tips:
Never leave your child unattended while swimming. Pools should have adequate fencing and the appropriate safety equipment. When swimming in the ocean or other body of water, make sure a lifeguard is on duty and keep small children within arm’s reach.
Lock windows at home and use child safety gates at stairways. Make sure playgrounds have soft surfaces to cushion children from falls, and avoid unguarded heights.
When riding in a car, use an age appropriate car seat, and require older children to wear a seatbelt at all times.
Teach children to use crosswalks and to look right, then left, then right again before crossing.
Require the use of an approved safety helmet when riding bikes, scooters, or skateboards.
Make sure the proper equipment is used in any sports or recreational activities your child participates in, and that they are supervised by a responsible adult.
Get Help Today
If your child is injured as the result of an accident or due to someone’s reckless conduct, contact our experienced South Carolina injury attorneys today. At the Surasky Law Firm, LLC, we understand the long term impacts these injuries can have on your child’s health and development, and can advise you on how to get the compensation you need to help them recover.
