WebParenTips - The Online Parenting Newsletter vol.5 no.3, Mar 2004 

                      ACCIDENT PREVENTION

The leading cause of death in age groups from 1-4 to 25-34 is,
you guessed it, accidental injury.

The automobile leads the way followed by falls. Mortality rates
only tell part of the accident story; many more children are
injured by accidents than are killed. For example, the estimated
injury rate for falls in infants under a year of age is 3515/100,000
while the fatality rate is 0.4. Over 8 million emergency room visits
annually are due to accidental injury in children under 15. Boys
are 1½ times more likely than girls to suffer accidental trauma.

Some accidents don't seem preventable like a lightning strike or
a tornado. But, although parents cannot control the weather, they
can WATCH the weather and get their children indoors when a
storm threatens.

Most accidents can be prevented, or injuries kept to a minimum,
if parents develop the SAFETY HABIT. This means you
UNDERSTAND WHY it is so important to childproof your house
and buckle up everybody in the car (including yourself) before
you turn the ignition key. And you ALWAYS DO IT.

Your children are protected in two ways. You actually do the
buckling up in the car safety seats but your children also watch
you buckle yourself in. You serve as both caring parents and
careful role models.

The tricky part is to protect your kids without making them feel
the world is a dangerous place full of hazards just waiting to get
them. The best way to approach this is to be very matter-of-fact.
We look both ways when we cross the street and we always
wear bicycle helmets like we brush our teeth. It's just something
people do.


Happy Parenting,
Marilyn Heins, M.D.


NOTE: There are New ParenTips on the website. See:

ParenTips


For comments, suggestions or requests for future topics
please write: 
info@parentkidsright.com


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dr. Marilyn Heins is a Tucson pediatrician, parenting
columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, author of the book,
ParenTips, as well as a mother, stepmother and grandmother.

She is available for workshops and lectures to groups of
parents, teachers, and grandparents. See:

Dr. Heins' Lectures
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Subscribe to WebParenTips


STOP receiving WebParenTips

More parenting information can be found in

Dr. Heins' book, ParenTips