Between scooters and small parts of toys, the daily life of a parent is not easy. Between 1990 and 2011, 3 million young Americans were injured with a toy.
Fractures, hemorrhages, falls, suffocation… Toys often make children happy but sometimes parents dread. Rightly so, according to a study published in Clinical Pediatrics : every three minutes, a child is admitted to the emergency room for an injury related to the use of a toy.
3 million children hospitalized
The rate of toy-related injuries has increased by 40% since 1990. This is the finding of the Injury Research Center, which initiated this study. In 22 years of follow-up, more than 3 million young Americans went to the emergency room because of a toy. And the pace is picking up. “A child’s job is to play, and games are their tools,” said Gary Smith, lead author of the study. “We want our children to explore, challenge themselves, and thrive while using these tools in a safe manner. “
Falls and collisions are the number one ways in which children are injured. In half of the cases, they were children under 5 years old.
14 choking in toddlers
At each age its risk, also reveals the study. Children under the age of 3 are particularly at risk of suffocation with small toys or small toy parts. During the follow-up period, 109,000 young children swallowed or inhaled foreign objects. This represents 14 cases per day.
As children grow older injuries develop. Those caused by wheeled toys (scooters, carts, tricycles, etc.) are increasing: 28% of injuries in children under 5 years old, 42% of those in 5-17 year olds. These accidents are three times more likely to result in a fracture or dislocation than with other toys.
Scooters worry
Specialists are particularly alert to scooters, because they are used more and more … and accidents are increasing in frequency. Between 2000 and 2011, almost 60,000 children were injured by this type of object, or one every 11 minutes. “The frequency and increase in the rate of childhood injuries associated with toys, particularly those associated with scooters, is worrisome. They highlight the need to increase efforts to prevent these injuries, ”comments Gary Smith.
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5 tips to avoid injury – Observe age restrictions and manufacturers’ recommendations. – Look for small parts of toys that could represent a choking hazard for young children. – Use wheeled toys on a dry, flat surface away from roads. – Carefully supervise any child under 8 who uses a wheeled toy. – Have a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads worn when a scooter or any wheeled toy is used. |
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