Children Injured In Accidents At Home

Millions Of Young Children Injured In Accidents At Home

Written By Ali Rennoll

During the months before your baby’s arrival, you’ve likely been getting everything ready, making sure you have enough diapers and cute little outfits for them to wear. But once you’ve brought baby home, it won’t be long until they start to reach, grasp, roll, sit and crawl. Before you know it your little one will be pulling themselves up, cruising along furniture and eventually walk. This can happen sooner than many parents expect. However, more than three million children are injured at home by tripping, falling, suffocating or being crushed by falling furniture. Whether it’s a case of removing trip hazards of creating a safe space for your child to sleep, most of these injuries could have been prevented with a little effort and childproofing know-how.

Reduce Risk Of Head Injuries

During the first two years of their life, your child will likely be able to move around, tumble over and generally get into things. Toddlers can become quite ambitious and will try to climb but won’t necessarily have the coordination or understanding to be able to react to any dangers. They will try to pull themselves up on anything they can such as table legs, dressers and other furniture. There is potential for them to have a dangerous fall into a sharp edge practically everywhere in your home. This can also happen as a result of tripping over wires, toys, rugs and the edge of furniture. Over 4 million children experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a consequence of hurting their heads on furniture and home fixtures such as chairs, walls, beds, tables and floors. A TBI happens when a child jolts or hits the head or when an object pierces or knocks the skill. Many of these injuries can be avoided by preventing young children from climbing up on to furniture and removing trip hazards on the floor. Using foam edges and corner cushions on furniture can also help to protect children if they were to bump the edges of furniture.

Secure Furniture To Avoid Tipping

While a toddler’s curiosity can see them potentially falling after climbing on to furniture, your little explorer could also become seriously injured when furniture or a TV falls on to them. It’s thought that a child is taken to the ER every 24 minutes, while one child tragically dies every two weeks from tipping furniture. These accidents are most common among children aged one to five, but babies under one-year-old account for around 8% of these injuries each year. Ensure furniture such as bookshelves, TVs and dressers are anchored to the wall as soon as your baby can rollover. Even the weight of a small child can be enough to pull over large furniture that hasn’t been adequately secured. Ensure flat-screen TVs are mounted to the wall or secured with straps to a TV stand. Use anti-tip brackets to secure tall furniture and avoid putting items on the top of TV stands or dressers that could entice a child to climb.

Create A Safe Sleeping Environment 

There are as many as 3,500 sleep-related deaths among babies in the US each year caused by sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs) and accidental suffocation. Bed sharing, unsafe sleeping positioning and the use of soft bedding contribute to these infant fatalities. Around 10,000 infants are taken to the ER every year because of a crib malfunction, while 100 youngsters die every year as a direct result of unsafe sleeping environments. The Infant Safety Bed from Crescent Womb is engineered to eliminate these risks. It can help to reduce SIDs due to the natural motion of the infant safety bed which ensures that there isn’t any build-up of carbon dioxide around the baby’s face. Meanwhile, as the baby can only sleep on their backs in the sleep system, they are kept in the correct supine position.

Watching your child grow and develop is a wonderful experience. But as they do, they also get bolder, more curious and ambitious. Not only do they need more supervision, but you will also need to ensure your home is as safe as possible for them to learn and grow in.

By following medical recommendations and using a safety approved product like Crescent Womb you can ensure baby safety during these critical months.