As summer approaches, so does the prime injury season for children. And some injuries can be fatal, doctors warn.
"By far, the leading cause of death in children is injuries, and there's a lot we can do to prevent those injuries," says Garry Gardner, a pediatrician in Darien, Ill., and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on injury, violence and poison prevention. "Injuries, in general, cause more deaths in kids over a year of age than the next seven leading causes of death combined."
And parents shouldn't underestimate their role in keeping their kids out of harm's way, says Alfred Sacchetti, an emergency physician at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, N.J. "You are the No. 1 safety feature that comes with your child."
Here are some of the biggest safety risks for children during the summer and otherwise—and what you can do to minimize them.
1. Suffocation and strangulation. This pair is the leading cause of unintentional-injury deaths in children under age 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How to reduce the risk: Make sure your infant has a sleeping environment free of pillows and soft bedding, and put him or her to sleep on his back in a crib, rather than in a bed with adults. Also position the baby far away from loose or hanging cords.
Parents should use cribs with four fixed sides, rather than those with sides that drop down. With the latter, parts can more easily break, deform or detach, opening up spaces where youngsters can become entrapped and suffocate, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Consumer Reports. Drop-side cribs have been responsible for 32 infant and toddler deaths in the past nine years, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has recalled seven million such cribs since 2005.
Parents who use a drop-side crib should check the plastic slides regularly and tighten the hardware if necessary, says Don Mays, senior director for product safety at Consumer Reports. "If there's any missing or broken hardware, get rid of the crib."
2. Drowning. Among children ages 1 to 4, drowning is nearly tied with motor-vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death. Incidents frequently revolve around swimming pools and bathtubs.
How to reduce the risk: Never leave a child unattended in a bathtub or allow a kid to swim without supervision. Avoid making or answering phone calls when children are in a bath or pool; that's the biggest distraction for parents, sometimes with fatal results, Dr. Sacchetti says.
Home swimming pools should have a fence that wraps around all four sides of the pool, instead of having one side open to the house, Dr. Sacchetti says. And you should have a separate pool entrance gate to reduce the likelihood of a child falling in and drowning.
Swimming lessons for kids over six months old can be fun, but parents shouldn't get a false sense of security because there's no such thing as drown-proofing your child, Dr. Gardner says. "I would recommend touch supervision under the age of three or four," he says, which means you're supervising your children in the pool or lake and they're only a hand reach away.
3. Motor-vehicle crashes. Car accidents are the leading cause of death among children over the age of 1, according to the CDC. And they account for as many as two-thirds of deaths among teenagers and young adults age 15 to 24.
How to reduce the risk: Using age-appropriate car seats is critical to boosting a small child's chances of surviving a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Children who haven't reached their first birthday and weigh less than 20 pounds should ride facing backward in a car seat placed in the back seat. After that, they should ride in the back seat using forward-facing toddler seats and then booster seats until regular seat belts fit properly—usually not until age 8 or when they're 4 feet 9 inches tall.
The NHTSA's website lists car-safety experts in various areas who will inspect a car seat's installation free of charge.
4. Other car-related accidents. Nearly 42% of the nontraffic fatalities in children under age 15 between 2004 and 2008 happened because drivers backed over kids, according to Kids and Cars, a nonprofit that tracks such accidents. More than 18% of deaths occurred because children got heatstroke after being left in cars. Other risks include power-window strangulation, trunk entrapment and vehicles that are accidentally set in motion.
How to reduce the risk: Teach children not to play in or around cars and supervise them carefully around vehicles. Make sure kids aren't around before pressing the gas pedal.
It doesn't take long for a child left in a car to overheat and die. One idea: Put a stuffed animal in the front seat or a briefcase or purse in the back seat to avoid forgetting about the child in the back seat.
5. Head injuries. Brain injuries remain among the most devastating for patients.
How to reduce the risk: Always use the proper car seat or seat belts. Make sure kids wear sport-specific helmets when they're playing sports or riding bicycles or skateboards. A child's aversion to helmets is no excuse for not wearing them, Dr. Sacchetti says.
Write to Kristen Gerencher at email@example.com