MONROE - The accidental injury death rate of children 14 and under has declined by 45 percent in the United States since 1987, yet accidental injury remains the nation's leading killer of kids, according to a new national report release by Safe Kids USA.
"We're losing too many children to an epidemic that can be prevented," said Mitch Stoller, president and chief executive officer of Safe Kids USA. "The 45 percent drop demonstrates tremendous progress, but we can't lose sight that accidental injury remains the leading killer of our nation's kids and that many of these injuries can be prevented.
"The drop in children's accidental deaths gives us thousands of reasons to celebrate - one for every single child that was saved from a serious or fatal injury," said Beth Kindschi of Safe Kids-Monroe Area. "But we're still losing too many kids in this country, which is why Safe Kids-Monroe Area joins the national effort to make child injury prevention a priority."
NATIONAL REPORT FINDINGS
The comprehensive national report was undertaken by Safe Kids USA in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury. Titled "Report to the Nation: Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety," the report examines accidental injury in the United States and its impact on children by age, gender and race, and reviews the changes in accidental childhood injury death rates in areas such as motor vehicle occupant injuries, drownings, suffocation (which includes strangulation and choking) and more. The report also compares current data to data from 1987 and 1997.
The report unveils many findings including:
• Only 58 percent of parents with children 14 and under report their child being involved in a serious accident or getting seriously injured as a major concern - a 7 percent drop since 1987.
• There is little change from 1987 to 2007 in the amount done by parents to ensure their child's safety - due to reasons varying from parents actually feeling the chance of their child being seriously injured is slim (especially fathers); to reporting that taking all the necessary steps are a hassle; to 20 percent of low-income families (household income levels under $25,000) saying many safety devices such as fire extinguishers and bike helmets cost too much.
• Yet when parents do take action, they are not always taking the right steps every time their child is at risk of injury. For example, 31 percent of households with children 14 and under do not consistently ensure their children ride in the back seat of a car all the time; 24 percent do not consistently supervise their children around the water all the time and 18 percent do not always ensure their children (under 10 years of age) are with an adult when crossing the street.
"The great strides made over the past 20 years in reducing accidental childhood injuries by Safe Kids USA, the American injury prevention community, parents and governments is reason for optimism," Kindschi said. "Yet all of us can do more to create a safer environment for the children of south central Wisconsin and northern Illinois."
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
The four leading causes of death from accidental injuries to children 14 and under are suffocation (19 percent), motor vehicle occupant injuries (16 percent), drownings (16 percent) and pedestrian incidents (11 percent). Here are 10 steps Safe Kids-Monroe Area recommends to parents:
1. Properly secure your children under age 13 in a back seat every time they ride in a car.
2. Keep your children in the right type of car or booster seat until adult lap and shoulder belts fit them correctly.
3. Make sure your children wear a helmet and other protective gear every time they bike, skate, skateboard or ride a scooter.
4. Teach your children to cross streets at corners and look left, right and left again before crossing. Make sure children younger than 10 always cross the street with an adult.
5. Always keep your eyes on your children when they are playing in or near water.
6. Always make sure your children wear life jackets when riding on boats or playing in or near open bodies of water.
7. Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home and outside of every sleeping area. Change the batteries once a year, and test them monthly.
8. Do not place blankets, pillows or other soft items in a baby's crib. Keep small items such as toy parts, coins, buttons and beads away from children under age three.
9. Keep poisonous items, such as medicines and cleaners, locked away and out of reach of children.
10. Do not let your children play on stairs, furniture, balconies, roofs, or in driveways, streets or parking lots.
NATIONAL SAFE KIDS WEEK
In celebration of National Safe Kids Week, April 26-May 4, Safe Kids is holding a variety of events throughout the area in the coming weeks.
Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden joined Safe Kids USA Monday to unveil a new report tracking the accidental childhood injury death rate in the United States since 1987.
Some of the report's startling statistics demonstrate that in 2005 accidental injury claimed the lives of 5,162 children, ages 14 and under and in 2006 there were more than 6.2 million children's emergency room visits for accidental injuries in this age group.
For more information or for a copy of the "Report to the Nation: Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety," visit www.usa.safekids.org. The report was funded by an educational grant from Johnson & Johnson.
Safe Kids-Monroe Area was founded in 1992 and is led by the City of Monroe Police Department and the Green County Health Department.
"We're losing too many children to an epidemic that can be prevented," said Mitch Stoller, president and chief executive officer of Safe Kids USA. "The 45 percent drop demonstrates tremendous progress, but we can't lose sight that accidental injury remains the leading killer of our nation's kids and that many of these injuries can be prevented.
"The drop in children's accidental deaths gives us thousands of reasons to celebrate - one for every single child that was saved from a serious or fatal injury," said Beth Kindschi of Safe Kids-Monroe Area. "But we're still losing too many kids in this country, which is why Safe Kids-Monroe Area joins the national effort to make child injury prevention a priority."
NATIONAL REPORT FINDINGS
The comprehensive national report was undertaken by Safe Kids USA in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury. Titled "Report to the Nation: Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety," the report examines accidental injury in the United States and its impact on children by age, gender and race, and reviews the changes in accidental childhood injury death rates in areas such as motor vehicle occupant injuries, drownings, suffocation (which includes strangulation and choking) and more. The report also compares current data to data from 1987 and 1997.
The report unveils many findings including:
• Only 58 percent of parents with children 14 and under report their child being involved in a serious accident or getting seriously injured as a major concern - a 7 percent drop since 1987.
• There is little change from 1987 to 2007 in the amount done by parents to ensure their child's safety - due to reasons varying from parents actually feeling the chance of their child being seriously injured is slim (especially fathers); to reporting that taking all the necessary steps are a hassle; to 20 percent of low-income families (household income levels under $25,000) saying many safety devices such as fire extinguishers and bike helmets cost too much.
• Yet when parents do take action, they are not always taking the right steps every time their child is at risk of injury. For example, 31 percent of households with children 14 and under do not consistently ensure their children ride in the back seat of a car all the time; 24 percent do not consistently supervise their children around the water all the time and 18 percent do not always ensure their children (under 10 years of age) are with an adult when crossing the street.
"The great strides made over the past 20 years in reducing accidental childhood injuries by Safe Kids USA, the American injury prevention community, parents and governments is reason for optimism," Kindschi said. "Yet all of us can do more to create a safer environment for the children of south central Wisconsin and northern Illinois."
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
The four leading causes of death from accidental injuries to children 14 and under are suffocation (19 percent), motor vehicle occupant injuries (16 percent), drownings (16 percent) and pedestrian incidents (11 percent). Here are 10 steps Safe Kids-Monroe Area recommends to parents:
1. Properly secure your children under age 13 in a back seat every time they ride in a car.
2. Keep your children in the right type of car or booster seat until adult lap and shoulder belts fit them correctly.
3. Make sure your children wear a helmet and other protective gear every time they bike, skate, skateboard or ride a scooter.
4. Teach your children to cross streets at corners and look left, right and left again before crossing. Make sure children younger than 10 always cross the street with an adult.
5. Always keep your eyes on your children when they are playing in or near water.
6. Always make sure your children wear life jackets when riding on boats or playing in or near open bodies of water.
7. Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home and outside of every sleeping area. Change the batteries once a year, and test them monthly.
8. Do not place blankets, pillows or other soft items in a baby's crib. Keep small items such as toy parts, coins, buttons and beads away from children under age three.
9. Keep poisonous items, such as medicines and cleaners, locked away and out of reach of children.
10. Do not let your children play on stairs, furniture, balconies, roofs, or in driveways, streets or parking lots.
NATIONAL SAFE KIDS WEEK
In celebration of National Safe Kids Week, April 26-May 4, Safe Kids is holding a variety of events throughout the area in the coming weeks.
Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden joined Safe Kids USA Monday to unveil a new report tracking the accidental childhood injury death rate in the United States since 1987.
Some of the report's startling statistics demonstrate that in 2005 accidental injury claimed the lives of 5,162 children, ages 14 and under and in 2006 there were more than 6.2 million children's emergency room visits for accidental injuries in this age group.
For more information or for a copy of the "Report to the Nation: Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety," visit www.usa.safekids.org. The report was funded by an educational grant from Johnson & Johnson.
Safe Kids-Monroe Area was founded in 1992 and is led by the City of Monroe Police Department and the Green County Health Department.