School-Year Safety Tips
While we encourage our kids to pay attention, study hard and make friends at school, we may neglect to properly guide them on how to stay safe each day. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers the following primer on some of the common safety issues children encounter during the school year, and how we can advise them to be careful.
Distracted walking. While distracted driving has become a term we’re all familiar with, distracted walking is also a real concern. For the five-year period from 2014-2018, there were an estimated 6,500 ER-treated injuries associated with walking-while-texting. Remind kids to keep their heads up and avoid texting or talking on the phone while walking, especially near traffic and cross walks.
Bicycles: From fractures to contusions and lacerations, there were an estimated annual average of 154,200 ER-treated bicycle injuries from 2016 to 2018, for children under the age of 16 years old. Insist that children who are biking, skateboarding or riding a scooter to school wear a helmet.
Playgrounds: Each year there are more than 230,000 injuries associated with playgrounds. Have children leave necklaces and clothing with drawstrings at home to reduce choking hazards.
Backpacks: From 2016-2018 there were an estimated annual average of 7,400 kids under 19 years old who were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to backpacks. If your child is complaining about back pain, make sure their backpack isn’t too heavy and discuss ways they can lighten the load, such as online textbooks.
Distracted walking. While distracted driving has become a term we’re all familiar with, distracted walking is also a real concern. For the five-year period from 2014-2018, there were an estimated 6,500 ER-treated injuries associated with walking-while-texting. Remind kids to keep their heads up and avoid texting or talking on the phone while walking, especially near traffic and cross walks.
Bicycles: From fractures to contusions and lacerations, there were an estimated annual average of 154,200 ER-treated bicycle injuries from 2016 to 2018, for children under the age of 16 years old. Insist that children who are biking, skateboarding or riding a scooter to school wear a helmet.
Playgrounds: Each year there are more than 230,000 injuries associated with playgrounds. Have children leave necklaces and clothing with drawstrings at home to reduce choking hazards.
Backpacks: From 2016-2018 there were an estimated annual average of 7,400 kids under 19 years old who were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to backpacks. If your child is complaining about back pain, make sure their backpack isn’t too heavy and discuss ways they can lighten the load, such as online textbooks.