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Health Information

Safety and Injury Prevention

• Airway Obstruction Overview
  
• Fire Safety and Burns Overview
  
• Airway Obstruction--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Choking hazards in the home: round, firm foods such as grapes and popcorn, and small nonfood items such as coins, balloons, and marbles.

• Airway Obstruction Index
  

  Infants and children under age 4 are particularly at risk for choking on food or small objects because their upper airways are smaller, and they tend to explore things with their mouths.

• Airway Obstruction: Prevention
  

  Because most accidental child strangulations, chokings, and suffocations occur in the home, it's important to carefully childproof your residence.

• Airway Obstruction--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Children at highest risk for all forms of airway obstruction are age 4 or younger. Youngsters who sleep in adult beds are also at increased risk for airway obstruction.

• Falls: Prevention
  

  Make sure playground equipment is age-appropriate. Most equipment manufactured today is made for two age groups: children from 2 to 5 years old, and children from 5 to 12 years old.

• Falls
  

  Detailed information on falls and preventing injuries and death in children

• Falls--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Infants are more likely to fall from furniture, baby walkers, and stairs. Toddlers tend to fall from windows.

• Fire Safety and Burns--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Children are at increased risk for serious fire and burn injuries and death because they have thinner skin than adults, resulting in burns at lower temperatures.

• Fire Safety and Burns
  

  Detailed information on fire safety and burns and preventing injuries and death in children

• Fire Safety and Burns--Prevention
  

  Develop a family escape plan and practice it repeatedly so that your children will have a better chance of escaping a fire unhurt and alive.

• Fire Safety and Burns--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  The most common causes of burn injuries among children ages 14 and under are hair curlers, curling irons, room heaters, ovens and ranges, irons, gasoline, and fireworks.

• Firearms--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Parents often underestimate their child's ability to gain access to a firearm in the house, or even the child's ability to pull the trigger.

• Firearms
  

  Detailed information on firearm safety and preventing injuries and death in children

• Firearms--Prevention
  

  The only sure way to keep your child safe from unintentional firearm-related injury and death in your home is to remove all firearms from the home.

• Firearms--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Having a firearm in the home increases the risk of unintentional firearm-related death among children, especially if the firearm is loaded and kept unlocked.

• Glossary - Safety and Injury Prevention
  

  Glossary of terms relating to safety and injury prevention in children

• Home Page - Safety and Injury Prevention
  

  Detailed information on safety and injury prevention of children

• Installing and Using Child Safety Seats and Booster Seats
  

  As part of your preparation for your new baby, you probably got an infant safety seat for the car. But do you know how to make sure it’s installed properly? And when do you switch to a child safety seat? Learn the ins and outs of safe car travel for your little one.

• Motor Vehicle Safety - Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  High-risk situations: improperly installing a child safety seat, allowing a child to ride in the bed of a pickup truck, and leaving a child unattended in a car.

• Motor Vehicle Safety Overview
  

  Detailed information on motor vehicle safety, including installing and using child safety seats and booster seats

• Pedestrian Safety
  

  Children are at higher risk for pedestrian injury and death because they often don't understand traffic rules or the danger that vehicles pose. In addition, parents and caregivers often overestimate a child's traffic skills.

• Motor Vehicle Safety--Injury and Incidence Statistics
  

  Most motor vehicle crashes occur within 25 miles of home and in areas where the speed limit is 40 mph or less.

• Online Resources - Safety and Injury Prevention
  

  List of online resources to find additional information on safety and injury prevention in children

• Topic Index - Safety and Injury Prevention
  

  Detailed information on safety and injury prevention of children

• Sports Safety--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  High-risk situations include faulty or ill-fitting safety gear and equipment, lack of adult supervision, and an unsafe playing environment.

• Sports Safety--Prevention
  

  Safety gear should be sport-specific and may include such items as goggles, mouthguards, shin-elbow-knee pads, and helmets. The safety gear worn by a child should fit properly.

• Sports Safety for Children
  

  Because they are still growing, children are more susceptible to sports injuries. Half of those injuries could be prevented with proper safety gear, safer playing environments, and established safety rules.

• Sports Safety - Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Almost one-third of all injuries incurred in childhood are sports-related injuries. By far, the most common injuries are sprains and strains.

• Toy Safety--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Small toys or toys with small removal parts are not appropriate for children ages 3 and younger.

• Toy Safety
  

  Detailed information on toy safety and injury prevention in children

• Toy Safety--Prevention
  

  To make sure a toy is appropriate for your young child, check the label. In general, most toys on the market today are safe.

• Toy Safety--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Almost half of all toy-related injuries occur to the head and face area. Most riding toy-related injuries occur when a child falls from a toy.

• Water Safety--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Water hazards in and around the home include buckets, diaper pails, toilets, ponds, and fountains.

• Water Safety for Children
  

  Preventive steps parents can take to protect their children from drowning.

• Water Safety--Prevention
  

  If your children are around bodies of water on a regular basis, learn CPR. CPR can save lives, reduce the severity of injury, and improve the chance of survival.

• Water Safety--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  More than half of childhood drownings in pools occur in the child's home pool. Most of the victims are between ages 1 and 4.

• Bicycle, In-Line Skating, Skateboarding Safety--Identifying High-Risk Situations
  

  Most crashes involving children on bicycles, in-line skates, or skateboards occur because the child breaks a traffic rule.

• Bicycle / In-Line Skating / Skateboarding Safety
  

  Detailed information on bicycle, in-line skating, and skateboarding safety

• Bicycle, In-Line Skating, Skateboarding Safety--Prevention
  

  Skateboards should never be used on surface streets. Your child should wear protective gear such as helmets, padding, and closed-toe and slip-resistant shoes.

• Bicycle, In-Line Skating, Skateboarding Safety--Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
  

  Most child and teen bicycle crashes occur between May and August and between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m.

• Teen Suicide
  

  Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15- to 24-year-olds. The strongest risk factors for attempted suicide in youth are depression, substance abuse, and aggressive or disruptive behaviors.