|
|
|
| Child
Safety, Missing
Child, Child Safety Products...and More!
|
Articles & Tips
Are You Taking The Time To Make Sure Your Kids Are Safe?
Parents are often advised to do many things to keep their kids safe and
prevent unnecessary injuries. I think that although many parents understand
the need to be mindful of their children's safety, they still often wonder if
they really need to do everything that is recommended.
Do you really need locks on your cabinets, covers on electrical outlets, or a
gate around your pool?
Can your kids be too safe?
Personally I think that you can never be too safe. That doesn't mean that your
children have to wear pads and a helmet at all times, but the more chances you
take, the more likely your children will get hurt at some time.
It is important to remember that accidents (unintentional injuries) are the
leading cause of death for children over age 1 years (and the 7th leading
cause of death for children under a year old).
Even though unintentional injuries is a better term than accidents, it is even
better to call these preventable injuries, since very often (but unfortunately
not always) they can be prevented with the proper safety measures.
Here are the leading causes of death for children age 1 to 19 years in 1999:
-
Unintentional Injury (11,677 deaths)
-
Homicide (2,901 deaths)
-
Malignant Neoplasms (2,175 deaths)
-
Suicide (1,859 deaths)
-
Congenital Anomalies (1,199 deaths)
-
Heart Disease (923 deaths)
-
Chronic Low.
Respiratory Disease (300 deaths)
-
Influenza & Pneumonia (296 deaths)
-
Benign Neoplasms (216 deaths)
-
Septicemia (196 deaths)
As you can see, none of the other leading causes of death even comes close to
the numbers caused by accidents.
Which injuries cause the most deaths? Here is the 1999 data:
-
Unintentional MV Traffic (7,297 deaths)
-
Unintentional Drowning (1,218 deaths)
-
Unintentional Fire/burn (659 deaths)
-
Unintentional Suffocation (360 deaths)
-
Unintentional Other Land Transport (350 deaths)
-
Unintentional Poisoning (334 deaths)
-
Unintentional Pedestrian, Other (274 deaths)
-
Unintentional Fall (220 deaths)
-
Unintentional Firearm (214 deaths)
-
Unintentional Unspecified (145 deaths)
|
Safety Tips
In addition to these deaths, millions of other children are injured each year
from accidents, many of which could have been prevented.
Are you taking any chances with your children's safety?
-
Is your child properly restrained when riding in your car?
-
Do you use door knob covers and door locks so that your child can not get out
of the house or into rooms that aren't childproofed?
-
Do you have smoke alarms on every level of your house and near bedrooms? Do
you check them regularly to make sure they are still working?
-
Do you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home that has gas or oil heat
or with attached garages?
-
Does your child wear a helmet when riding his bike?
-
If you have a pool, is it protected with a fence and a self-closing and
self-latching gate?
-
Do you have a child under 6 years in the top bunk of a bunk bed?
-
Have you set the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees
Fahrenheit?
-
Do you have a gun in the house that is loaded and unlocked?
-
Do you have covers on electrical outlets?
-
Do you have a fire extinguisher?
-
Do you keep medicines, poisons and household cleaners completely out of reach
of your children?
-
Do you have wall anchors on your stove and large pieces of furniture that may
tip over?
-
Have you checked your house for recalled toys and household products?
-
Do you keep toys with small parts out of the reach of your younger children?
-
Do you smoke?
-
Have you protected the sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces with corner and
edge bumpers?
-
Do you put sunscreen on your child when necessary?
-
If you live in an older house, has your child been screened for lead poisoning?
-
Do you have matches or lighters easily accessible in your house?
-
Do you have window guards installed on your windows?
-
Does your family have an escape plan in case there is a fire?
-
Do you have a list of emergency numbers by the phone?
-
Do you let your kids play with fireworks?
-
Do you wash fruits and vegetables before letting your children eat them?
-
Are your kids safe when they visit the homes of friends or family members?
Have they childproofed their homes?
-
Do you use the back burners when cooking and turn pot handles toward the back
of the stove?
-
Do you use an appliance latch to lock your refrigerator?
-
Do you let your younger child play outside by himself?
-
Do you leave buckets around the house with water in them?
-
Do you leave your younger child in the bathtub alone?
-
Do you let your child stand up in shopping carts?
-
Do you use a harness when your child is in his high chair?
-
Have you warned your children not to play near moving water, such as a canal
or creek?
-
Do you let your kids ride in the back of a pickup truck?
-
Do you encourage your children to wear safety equipment when playing sports?
That is a long list of things (and it is not even a comprehensive list) that
you can do to keep your kids safe, but it doesn't take long to practice them
everyday.
It just takes getting into a habit of being mindful of your children's safety.
It can help if you just ask yourself 'Is that safe for my child?' or 'Is there
a way that I can be doing this that would be safer for my kids?'.
When you read about accidents that kill kids, you usually don't hear about
children drowning with a life preserver on, being thrown from a car in a car
seat, or being shot in a home that doesn't have any guns in it. Many of these
deaths can be prevented.
Remember that the more chances you take, such as by not using a car seat,
having a gun that is loaded and unlocked in the house, or not having a smoke
detector, the more likely your child is to be injured or killed by an accident
|
|
|
|
|