Injury Prevention
Each year, one in every four children receives medical treatment because of an injury such as a fall from a bicycle or an animal bite. While most injuries are minor, many of them are very serious. In fact, every year, injuries disable more children than kidnapping, drugs and disease combined.
While you can't prevent your children from every bump or bruise, you can help learn ways to reduce the chances they'll be seriously injured by taking safety precautions such as always using a seat belt and always wearing a bicycle helmet.
"The key to injury prevention is matching a child's development, supervision, and tasks with his or her developmental capabilities. With each new stage of physical, cognitive and social development, new injury hazards emerge." - National Safe Kids
Winter Safety Information for Families
Tis the Season to gift a helmet:
This season Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention is encouraging caregivers to remember that if gifting any wheeled bike, scooter, skateboard or other device, to remember the gift is not complete without a helmet. The most protective device there is to help prevent a brain injury or death in the event of a crash or fall. For more information on how to buy a bike and how to fit a helmet click on the links below.
In addition to the seasonal Tis the season to gift a helmet promotion promoted locally during this year, we offer you these winter safety tips for you and your children.
- Children under the age of five need constant hands on supervision at all times
- Children in early elementary need nearly constant supervision ( 0-5 minutes left alone)
- Children in later elementary close supervision ( 0-15 minutes left alone)
- Older children need monitoring of their free time with risks such as internet predators, access to alcohol at friends' homes, and risky driving with friends whom have chosen to drink and drive.
Overall the most important factor to consider is someone designated as a role of "child watcher" during holiday visits, after school, and when away from the house.
Winter Safety
Holidays:during this time, many children will be enjoying gifts and festive decorations. To keep things safe: www.recalls.gov to receive notification of toys and products that may have been recalled due to high amounts of lead, small parts, or poor manufacturing so they can be removed from your child's environment even after the holidays if they pose a risk. www.charlottefire.org
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Always follow ages on toys bought for children as they usually relate to a child's developmental stage and safety. More information on toy safety can be found here:
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Don't forget to sign up at www.recalls.gov to receive notification of toys and products that may have been recalled due to high amounts of lead, small parts, or poor manufacturing so they can be removed from your child's environment even after the holidays if they pose a risk.
- Never leave children in vehicles for short shopping trips. In addition, our partners at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department offer you these additional shopping safety tips. Holiday Shopping Tips
Winter Weather
When things turn cold there are a few things safety considerations:
- Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer with no warning signs. Get a carbon monoxide detector to place near appliances that may place you at risk and avoid risky fuel sources if power goes out this season. Click here for more information on carbon monoxide, click here to view spanish version. If you are in need of a carbon monoxide detector contact the city fire department or the county fire marshall where you live to see if supplies are available.
- Winter sledding should be done away from cars and roads and under the supervision of adults
Kids may be playing more inside due to weather or visits to relatives, remember to check for safety wherever they play and follow these guidelines.
- Keep fire arms stored and locked, 25% of 2 year olds can pull the trigger of a gun and children are naturally curious so its safest to keep them locked away from sight.
- Children are drawn to fire, make sure matches are out of reach and avoid novelty lighters which may draw children's attention. ** These lighters are now illegal in many states including North Carolina.
Other risks this time of year include accidental suffocation of infants from fluffy bedding, poisoning from holiday plants, medication overdose for seasonal colds, and injuries from a motor vehicle crash due to increased travel during the holidays. For more information on holiday safety
In an effort to provide the best safety information possible, the Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention, a division of Levine Children's Hospital and Carolinas Medical Center and supported by the Department of Emergency Medicine maintains a website with caregiver checklists and tips sheets by age of child and topic area. To access safety information by your child's age click here. To access tip sheets on a variety of topics click here.
The Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention, in collaboration with many organizations in North Carolina, promotes the safety and well-being of children through numerous on-going programs throughout the year. Below are brief overviews of these programs with links to retrieve more information including printable tip sheets for you and your family. Check back with us frequently with each change of season for new programs!
Safe Routes to School Toolkit Available
As the call for an increase in childhood activity levels escalates, the Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention has begun a "National Safe Routes to School" movement locally with the Mecklenburg County Health Department. The goal of this program is to work with schools that are increasing awareness about the benefits of walking and biking to school to ensure that safety is being promoted as part of the initiative. There is now a full time coordinator for that Safe Routes to School Program housed at the Mecklenburg County Health Department. If you are interested in learning more on how to start these types of programs at your child's school click here to download a local toolkit to help you get started!
Locally, Mecklenburg county infant deaths from choking and suffocation due to unsafe sleep environments have been on the rise. In an effort to save our youngest citizens, a task force has been developed within Carolinas HealthCare System, including Levine Children's Hospital to provide appropriate modeling of safe sleep practices and parent education on the topic. The Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention also leads a task force with the Mecklenburg County Child Fatality Protection and Prevention Team to spearhead a local multi agency effort to standardize and ensure a wider disbursement of this information locally. For more information and tips about providing a safe sleep environment for your child, click here.
Child Passenger Safety
As Motor Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and disability for people age 1-44 nationally and locally, there are many efforts underway to prevent these injuries from occurring on our area roads. Levine Children's Hospital supports national child passenger safety week by making informational handouts available at their booth at the Charlotte Women's Show each September. In addition, the Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention as a member agency of Charlotte Mecklenburg Safe Kids helps organize other week long events to support child passenger safety outreach efforts. Since these events vary yearly please visit http://www.safekidscharmeck.org/ for information each September.
Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention has partnered with Central Piedmont Community College to offer a hands-on defensive teen driving class for young drivers. This class is currently held Friday nights and Saturday during the day. The center is also currently conducting a teen driving study to gather data to see if this class is effective in changing teen driving attitudes in 2008 and 2009.
Home Safety Checklists
Home Safety Checklists for Caregivers
In an effort to protect area children the Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention is partnering with the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services to make home safety checklists available to social workers. The social workers can use these checklists at home visits with local families to educate these families on how to make the home environment safer for children.
In addition to safety checklists, positive parenting skills can help protect your child too. Just click here to learn more. To download a brochure about keeping your baby safe just click here. To view the Keeping Your Baby Safe Brochure in Spanish click here. And if you are expecting a baby and would like additional information about the many classes we offer at Carolinas Medical Center just click here.
Carolinas Center for Injury Prevention also continues to support local, regional, state and national, injury prevention efforts through our appointment on the National Association of Children's Hospitals Injury Prevention Board, the UNC Charlotte Public Health Advisory Board, the Child Fatality Team Executive Board, chairing the Injury Prevention Committee for the Regional Metrolina Trauma Committee, and by serving on other coalitions including, the Safe Kids Charlotte Mecklenburg Coalition, the Drug Free Charlotte Coalition, the Healthy Carolinians Coalition, and the Carolinas Medical Center Youth Violence Prevention Committee.
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