Fall Prevention
In Virginia, falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury to children. Very young children often fall from nursery room furniture and baby walkers increase their risk of falling down stairs. Toddlers and preschoolers are at risk for window falls and balcony falls. Older children often fall from playground equipment and during sports and recreational activities. Adult supervision, home modification, and informed product selection can help reduce the likelihood of childhood falls.
Each year in America, over 200,000 children receive emergency department care for playground related injuries. That is one child every 2 1/2 minutes. Most playground injuries are the result of falls - falls to the ground below equipment and falls from one piece of equipment to another. These falls can cause serious brain and spinal cord injuries or even death.
Prevention Tips
On the playground:
- Supervise young children at all times. Prevent behaviors like pushing, shoving, and crowding around equipment.
- Make sure that children play on playground equipment that is appropriate for their age.
For example, don't let young children play on high climbing equipment such as monkey bars. Keep all children off equipment from which they might fall six or more feet. - Check the surface under playground
equipment. Avoid playgrounds with asphalt,
concrete, grass, and soil surfaces under the
equipment. Look for surfaces of hardwood
fiber, mulch chips, pea gravel, fine sand, or
shredded rubber – materials that can
cushion a fall – with a depth of at least 9 inches.
In the home:
- Supervise young children at all times.
- Never leave babies alone on any furniture. Instead, put babies on the floor or in a crib with secured guardrails.
- As babies get older and learn to sit and pull up to a standing position, lower the mattress in the crib. You should stop using the crib as soon as the top rails are less than 3/4 of the child's height.
- Do not use baby walkers because they allow children access to stairways and areas of the home that may result in a fall.
- Install gates at top and bottom of stairs until children can climb up and down safely.
- Move chairs, cribs, beds, and other furniture away from windows. So that children can't climb to window ledges or sills, and fall.
- Safely secure windows with window guards or window stops to keep children from falling out of windows. Window screens are not designed to prevent falls. If you need to open windows, open them from the top – not the bottom.
- Dry slippery surfaces and remove hazards whenever possible.
- Secure area rugs and throw rugs by using a nonskid backing.
- Select play equipment that is safe for young children such as equipment that keeps children low to the ground.
True Story
Mother was home with toddler that morning. It was an unseasonably warm January day. That morning, she had exercised in the playroom and had opened a window to let in cool air. The window was screened. She left it open. When she walked into the playroom, she found one of the child- sized plastic chairs in the room pushed up to the window and the screen gone. A glance out told her worst fear was true. There was her toddler, on the ground, bleeding.
Useful Links
Fall Prevention for Children Tip Card
