Preventing Unintentional Injury in and Around the Home

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States unitentional injury is the first leading cause of death among children under the age of 19. Many of these injuries occur in and around the home but they can be prevented. Dangers to children in the home may not even be recognized until it is too late. The three leading causes for unexpected injury or death of children in the home are suffocation, motor vehicle injury, and drowning. These tragedies can be avoiding by learning what dangers to look out for and how to stop accidents from happening. Typical items found in and around the home can easily injure and kill children when no one is looking. Here are some tips on making your home a safer place.

Exercise Equipment
Home use of exercise equipment is fairly common in the United States but can pose dangers to small children, pets, and the elderly. Many homes have some sort of exercise machinery like treadmills, ellipticals, and weight benches. After use of exercise equipment you should disconnect the power by taking the plug out of the wall and also by removing the safety key/card/magnet so the machine becomes unoperable. Children are very smart and can learn how to operate a treadmill or elliptical by watching you do it only once. Store the safety card/key/magnet in a separate room or locked cabinet/drawer. Follow all safety precautions set forth by the manufacturer and do not allow children to play on or around exercise equipment. Use locks to secure weight benches to avoid children pinching or even cutting off their fingers in moving parts. Treadmills can be especially dangerous because the friction of the belt can cause burns and severe damage to the skin should an accident occur. Be sure to check all the locks and safety features when you are done operating your exercise equipment to avoid accidental injury.

Placement of your exercise equipment can also make the difference of life and death in some situations. Always make sure that your exercise equipment has at least 10-12 inches of clearance on every side. If you or a child should fall while operating exercise machinery you will want the extra space to get up and get away from it. In some severe cases children have been pinned between exercise equipment and a wall or another object and are unable to escape injury or suffer worse injury because of it. Exercise equipment should also be stored in a room that can be locked so children cannot gain access when no one is looking. Exercise equipment should never be used in the same room where children are playing because there is a potential for injury, even if you are right there watching. According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Comission (CPSC) more than 95,000 people are injured each year by exercise equipment. Being smart and using the safety features provided with your machinery will help you to avoid injury.

Unstable Furniture
Most home furniture on its own is harmless but once loaded with heavy objects like books or televisions, home furniture can become a danger to you and your family. Unstable furniture can tip and fall injuring and/or killing unsuspecting children. Heavy and tall items like dressers, wardrobes, book shelves, and cabinets are more likely to tip over than low, wide items like a desk. Because there are no federal safety standards on furniture manufacturers and builders do not have to label their products as being dangerous. Between 8,000 and 10,000 children are injured every year by furniture falls proving that unstable furniture can be a danger in the home. Heavy and tall items should be secured to the wall using metal "L" brackets and screws. The screws should not only penetrate the walls but should be long enough to attach to studs inside the wall. If the screws are too short they may end up pulling out of the wall if the furniture starts to tip or pull away. You may also use bolts or screws through the backing of furniture to secure it to a wall but you should first make sure it is attached properly. Many furniture backings are made of flimsy, thin material that may break away if the furniture tips over. If the backing is nailed or stapled, screw it into place before anchoring it to the wall.

Other than dressers, bookshelves, and cabinets other furnishings in your home like picutre frames and mirrors can pose a threat as well. Instead of using regular frame hooks to hang picture frames and mirrors you may want to use open eye hooks instead. Choose hooks that are long enough to reach the studs behind the wall and that have only a small opening for the hanger or wire to pass through. If a heavy mirror or picture frame is hung in this manner it will probably stay on the wall even in an earthquake. A heavy picture frame or mirror can cause severe damage should it fall onto someone mainly because it is made of glass. By securing your frames in this manner you can avoid these these types of unexpected accidents.

Televisions and desk top computers can also be a danger in the home if they are not properly secured. Lots of children have been seriously injured when a television or computer monitor fell on them. Make sure you place televisions and computers on level surfaces that are not too high. You may also use a cable, rubber cord, or other device to attach the television or computer monitor to a wall or surace of a desk or table. Make sure the securing cable is not very long so that if the television or computer falls off its base it cannot fall onto someone. There are a number of methods for securing televisions and computers using bolts, screws, and other equipment available at most home improvement stores and even at some childrens and teens furniture retailers. If you are using a hanging television stand either from the wall or ceiling, make sure it is properly installed according to the manufacturers instructions. Not following the instructions could lead to the telvision falling down and injuring someone.

Window Coverings
Suffocation is the number one leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-19. Certain window coverings like slatted blinds pose a strangulation threat to children. In November of 2000 with the help of CPSC legislation was passed requiring manufacturers of window blinds to add certain safety features like tassels and "loopless" slats. Since 1991 more than 160 child deaths have been reported due to strangulation by cords or ropes. Blinds manufactured before November of 2000 will not break away should a child become trapped in the strings. Keep all cribs, playpens, and beds away from windows to avoid this danger. The Home Safety Council reports that in the all deaths due to strangulation by window coverings, the childs bed or play area had easy access to a window with this type of blind. The cords and strings of window blinds should be permanently kept out of the reach of children. This can be accomplished by cutting off the strings or tying them up near the top of the window. You should check to make sure all of the cords on blinds in your home are tied up out of reach, no matter what room they hang in. Children can and will climb on the top of couches, tables, and other furniture to reach the cords so make sure they are out of reach, and possibly out of sight.

Lawn Mowers and Trimmers
Children and small pets can be seriously injured by lawn mowers and trimmers. Injuries from blades can be severe and even lead to death. The Science Daily reports that each year more than 80,000 Americans are hosiptalized due to lawn mower accidents and well over 600,000 people are injured. The majority of injuries are sustained by children under the age of 15. When using a lawn mower or trimmer it only takes a second for an accident to happen. Never let children ride on, or play on or near the lawnmower. Persons operating a riding or push mower should be over the age of 16 and know how to properly operate the machine. It is estimated that approximately 1 child a day is hurt due to a lawn mower or trimmer accident. Never let your children or pets play in the yard while it is being mowed and keep an eye out for them while you mow the grass. Recently a campaign was launched to make the American public more aware of lawn mower accidents involving children. For more information on this topic visit http://www.knowbeforeyoumow.org.

Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents are the second leading unintentional cause of death among children in the United States. Every year hundreds of children are killed or injured by motor vehicle accidents right in front of their own homes, or within sight of a parent. Lots of people have backed over children with a vehicle causing severe internal injuries that can lead to death. Today, some models of cars and trucks have back up sensors and/or cameras that tell you when something is behind the vehicle. Unfortunately, not many vehicles are equipped with these safety features. You have to physically make sure there are no children behind your vehicle before backing out of or into a driveway or other parking space. That means, get out of the car and look behind it to make sure it is clear before putting it into reverse.

Power windows have also been to blame in a number of deaths across the United States involving children. Currently there is no legistlation requiring vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. to install safety features like automatic reverse for power windows. Often the motor that powers a vehicle window will operate with more than 50 lbs. of pressure on it. Because most young children weigh less than 50 lbs. it is extremely easy for them to be lifted up with the window should the button be pressed. The placement of the window operation buttons on door armrests also poses a threat to small children in the backseat. Never leave a child unattended in a car, even if it is not running because the window may still operate and pose a hazard to small children. If your car allows you to lock the rear control buttons use the feature religiously when riding with children to avoid danger.

Drowning
Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death among children in the United States. A child can drown in less than 6 inches of water and it only takes minutes for it to happen. Never leave your child unattended in the bath tub, with a sink full of dishes, or in the backyard pool. When it comes to drowning children do not fight, but simply give up and drown. You have to be vigilant. One major problem that contributes to accidental drowning of children are inexpensive blow up or plastic pools designed to be put together by an individual. These kinds of pools hold anywhere from 200 to over 5,000 gallons of water. Because they are often inexpensive many families purchase them for summer use but fail to install a fence around it to keep children out. If you cannot afford to install a fence you should deflate or empty the pool of water after each use to avoid accidents. Children should never use the bath or pool without supervision, not even for a moment. By taking some precautionary measures and using common sense lots of injuries in and around the home can be avoided.