Parents misjudge accident risks

Parents misjudge children's accident risks

30.08.2012

Most parents assume that their children are at risk of accidents on the road. In any case, 85 percent of the surveyed parents said in the course of a survey study of the German Insurance Association (GDV). What many parents do not know: the main accident risk exists in their own homes. Despite personal experiences contradict the information of the parents.

Main danger for children in their own household
Eighty-five percent of survey respondents believe that the main threat to children's serious accidents is on the road. However, this view is not consistent with the findings of private accident insurers. According to the General Association of the German Insurance Industry, only 14 percent of all accidents involve children in road traffic. „The proportion of traffic accidents has been falling for years and is steadily declining“, so the insurers. The share of traffic accidents involving children last measured only just under 16 percent in 2010. The biggest accident risk is the parental household. However, around 82 percent of parents said they would only consider the risk of child accidents at home as „low estimate“.

Experience values ​​contradict assumptions
After evaluations of the study, however, the experiences of the parents contradict those already experienced. 34 percent of parents said their children had already had an accident. 60 percent of the accident events took place in-house, in the apartment or in the garden. According to the parents, only 14 percent of accidents happened in traffic. It also showed that the risk of traffic accidents increases with increasing childhood. This means that the older the children were, the more frequently accidents happened on the road. „This seems logical, since toddlers rarely move alone in traffic.“ (Sb)

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Picture: CFalk