Accident prevention
The leading cause of preventable deaths for children under five and a major cause of ill health and serious disability is accidents. Public Health England reveals that, each year, across England:
- 62 children under five die following accidents
- 40,000 under-fives are admitted to hospital
- around 450,000 under-fives attend A&E
CAPT (Child accident prevention trust) was commissioned by the government to analyse the data on deaths and hospital admissions for the five years from 2008-12. The five main causes of serious unintentional injury for the under-fives in England are:
- Choking, suffocation and strangulation
- Falls
- Poisoning
- Burns and scalds
- Drowning
And all happen in and around the home! Visit Ages and Stages | Child Accident Prevention Trust (capt.org.uk) for further information on how to prevent these accidents and more.
Burns and scalds
Almost half of all serious burns are to children under two and 70% are to children under five. Before your baby is born and/or at each stage of their development you can walk through your home to see how safe it is for your baby. Visit this CAPT website for a useful guide- https://capt.org.uk/burns-scalds/.
There is a height chart available to download from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, helping you avoid accidents at home. Visit https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/accidents-to-children.
Bathing Safely
Babies can drown in a few centimetres of water so stay with them at all times. When filling the bath, run the cold water first and then add hot water. Babies’ skin is thinner than adults so they are more at risk of scalds from hot water. Using your elbow to test the water is a good guide or a bath thermometer.
Safety Alerts
Magnets:
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has identified a particular hazard arising from the use of high-powered magnets in products and where the magnets can be easily swallowed. Examples of these magnets are: fridge magnets, earrings, tongue piercings and drink charms. It is important to keep these objects away from children as ingestion could result in a serious or fatal injury. If you suspect your child has swallowed a magnet, you must take them to A&E straight away or call 999 immediately.
