National Childhood Injury Prevention Week
September 1st marks the beginning of National Childhood Injury Prevention Week 2015!
Every year, thousands of children get injured in a variety of ways, and some of these injuries end up being fatal. As part of the National Childhood Injury Prevention Week awareness campaign, we’d like to make you aware of some of the more-common potential hazards that may lead to injuries to a child, and what you can do to prevent such injuries.
Children are Naturally Curious
Childhood Injury Prevention Week
Most injuries take place in and around the home as well as the school environment. Owing to the curious nature of children, it’s almost impossible for you to protect them 24/7. One of the best ways of ensuring that your kids are safe at all times is to give them guidelines that are simple to understand and internalize.
Here’s a helpful list:
- Tell your kids to keep a safe distance from the road or any busy walkway. After falls, road accidents are the most common type of childhood injury.
- Make sure that all poisonous or caustic liquids and chemicals are locked away safely. Consider installing high wardrobes that little hands can’t reach.
- Install CCTV cameras around your home so that you can monitor your kids as they play.
- If you have a pool, always keep it covered if you have kids running around the house and the yard. If you have toddlers, you should also invest in a safety fence. This may prevent accidental drowning.
- Make sure that your children are always strapped in whenever you’re driving them somewhere, even if it’s to the local corner shop. Make SURE they are in a proper child safety seat and that it is installed correctly. Did you know that 75% of car seats are installed incorrectly?
- Make sure that your children have the necessary safety gear when riding bicycles in order to prevent fall injuries and serious head injuries.
- Store all plastic bags out of sight of children to prevent accidental suffocation and asphyxiation.
- If your child attends a daycare, ensure that the center has the necessary equipment as well as kits to help mitigate any injuries resulting from rough play or accidental falls. Always be on the lookout for signs of daycare abuse.
- If you have toddlers, consider putting up gates on stairways to prevent children from falling down the stairs.
- Make sure that emergency information is properly displayed in pivotal areas around the house. This can include things like emergency contact number as well as your child’s doctor or the numbers of certain relatives who live nearby.
Prevention Goes a Long Way
When it comes to childhood injury, taking certain safety measures into consideration can go a long way in ensuring that your children stay healthy and safe at all times. If you like this article, please share it with your friends and family. National Childhood Injury Prevention Week is all about spreading awareness!
By Jeff Rasansky.
Category: In The News
