Preventing children from having major injuries around house
Donya Betancourt, Pediatrician, Jakarta
Did you know that injuries are the greatest threat to the life and health of your child? The good news is that you can prevent most major injuries.
Accidents often occur because parents are not aware of what their children can do. Children learn fast, and before you know it your child will be wiggling off a bed or reaching for your cup of hot tea.
All children deserve to live in a safe environment. Guidance for injury prevention should be an integral part of the medical care provided for all infants, children and adolescents.
An injury prevention program should include age-appropriate safety tips for newborns up to children 12 years of age, to help prevent common injuries from motors, drowning, firearms, falls, bicycle crashes, pedestrian hazards, burns, poisoning and choking.
Falls
Because of your child's new abilities, he or she will fall often. Protect your child from injury. Use gates on stairways and doors. Remove sharp-edged or hard furniture from the room where your child plays. Do not use a baby walker. Your child will tip it over, fall out of it, or fall down the stairs in it. Baby walkers allow children to get to places where they can pull hot food or heavy objects down on themselves. These injuries happen most to children younger than 4 years old.
Burns
At six to 12 months children grab at everything. Never leave cups of hot coffee on tables or counter edges. And never carry hot liquids or food near your child or while holding your child.
Also, if your child is left to crawl or walk around stoves, floor heaters or other hot appliances, he or she is likely to get burned.
A safe place for your child while you are cooking, eating or unable to provide your full attention is with a caretaker or in a playpen, highchair or crib. If your child does get burned, put cold water on the burned area immediately. Then loosely cover the burn with a bandage or clean cloth. Call your doctor for all burns.
Drowning
All children love to play in water. Empty all the water from bathtubs, pails or any containers of water immediately after use. Keep the door to the bathroom closed. Never leave your child alone in or near a bathtub, pail of water, wading or swimming pool, or any other water, even for a moment.
Drowning can occur in less than five centimeters of water. Knowing how to swim does not make your child water safe at this age. Stay within an arm's length of your child around water.
If you have a swimming pool, now is the time to install a fence that separates the house from the pool. The pool should be fenced in on all four sides. Younger children drown when they wander out of the house and fall into a pool that is not fenced off from the house. It only takes a moment for your child to get out of your house and fall into your pool.
Drowning is a common cause of death in children so the rule is no matter how good your child swims, up until 10 years of age your child is not safe alone in water.
Do not let your child play around any water (lake, stream, pool or ocean) unless an adult is watching. Never let your child swim in canals or any fast-moving water. Teach your child to never dive into water unless an adult has checked the depth first. And when on any boat, be sure your child is wearing a life jacket.
Poisoning and choking
Many ordinary household items can be poisonous. Be sure to keep household products such as cleaners, chemicals and medicines up, up, and away, completely out of sight and reach of children. Never store lye drain cleaners in your home.
A younger child will explore the world by putting anything and everything into his or her mouth. Never leave small objects or balloons in your child's reach, even for a moment. Don't feed your child hard pieces of food such as hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes, peanuts or popcorn. Cut all food into thin slices to prevent choking.
Be prepared if your child starts to choke. Learn how to save the life of a choking child.
Next week we will cover safety issues for older children.