It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the possibilities of potential injury to your children but don’t have to feel this way. To help alleviate anxiety, we have listed some common sources of injury to children by age below and follow with simple steps you can take to help prevent the injury from happening.

 

Infants

At this age, it’s really important to create a safe sleep environment for baby and this starts with making sure your child has a safe product to sleep in. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just adopted a tough new standard for basinets and cradles, but that standard doesn’t go into effect until April 23, 2014. Until then, look to see that the bassinet you purchase meets the ASTM International Standard for bassinets, F15-2194 (with a 12 or higher after the standard number). In addition, decorate the room, not the crib. Bare is best for baby so make sure the sleep space is free of bumper pads, soft bedding and accessories.

 

Babies

There are so many options for products to buy your baby, whether it be swings, cribs, walkers or entertainers, but the key is to look for what’s safe. You can do this by checking to see if the product you intend to buy meets a mandatory standard. Cribs, for example, manufactured after June 28, 2011 have to meet the strongest safety standards in the world. Other potential sleep spaces- rockers, bouncers, and car seats, are not safe sleep options for baby.You’ll also want to make sure that your baby is in a safe product on the go, so check out Safe Kids for car seat safety tips, instructional videos, and car seat check up events.

 

Toddlers

At this age, many kids are exploring the world around them and mouth a lot of objects in order to do this. Beware of potential choking or ingestion hazards including balloons, button batteries, and high powered magnets. A good rule of thumb is: if it fits inside a toilet paper tube, it’s too small for children under 3. Also be alert to tip over hazards which include TV’s, furniture, and appliances. KID Board Member Dr. Karen Sheehan wrote a blog post recently for Lurie Children’s about the misconceptions of this hazard and the need to anchor furniture and mount TV’s.

 

Preschool

This is the age where kids are getting into everything; it can be tough to make sure they don’t get into the wrong thing! Nearly 50% of the calls received by Illinois Poison Center involve children under the age of 5. Especially helpful information on this site includes the My child ate section which lists substance information, possible symptoms and most importantly, what to do in the event of an ingestion.

 

Schoolage

Parents need to have the appropriate gear for their children. This includes wearing a helmet for any wheeled sport. Learn more about proper equipment for children’s sport activities here. Never buy or sell used bike helmets and once the helmet has been in an accident, discard it safety and purchase a new one. Remember, KID and CPSC can be your safety partners at any age.

 

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