1.7 million accidents involving children every year

1.7 million accidents involving children in Germany every year

01.03.2012

As the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians now announced, around 1.7 million children up to the age of 14 are the victims of accidents each year. Whether playing in kindergarten, at home or on the road, even a brief moment of carelessness is often enough. Wolfram Hartmann, president of the professional association of paediatricians, gives parents tips for avoiding accidents.

For 273 children, the accident ended fatally
According to statistics from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, 273 children were killed in accidents in 2010. 200,000 children were hospitalized in hospital, of whom about 81,000 were under six years old. To avoid accidents at home, Wolfram Hartmann has practical tips for parents.

The president of the professional association of children and adolescents advises not to leave children in the bathroom alone, because there could be accidents even when washing hands. „They usually can not distinguish the colors yet, turn up the warm water and scald their hands“, explains the expert. At home many accidents would still happen, although parents could make the environment child-safe there. One of the typical accidents is, for example, the fall from the changing table, where children can seriously injure, explains Hartmann. Falls and burns were among the most common dangers of younger children. „You have to keep an eye on children“, says the expert.

Parents should install parental controls in the home
To reduce the risk of accidents for children in the home, parents could install smoke detectors and child safety locks. Especially important are security measures on window handles, sockets and the stove. „It should not be that a child unauthorized opening a window“, reports Hartmann. „It sees a chair, climbs on it because it wants to see something there, opens the window and falls down in the worst case.“ Parental controls in the home would prevent many accidents.

Another risk is not bolted to the wall shelves. Of course, parents can not permanently keep an eye on their children. For example, until they are two years old, they could be placed in a playpen with toys while they are cooking, even if it has become somewhat out of fashion. „No child is harmed when it's another hour in the playpen. It is safest there“, explains Hartmann. Basically, safety measures should not restrict the natural urge to move of a child.

According to statistics, around one million girls and boys in kindergarten or at school are injured every year, 300,000 injure themselves at home, 150,000 suffer road accidents and 250,000 injured in sports or games.

Advent time is accident time
According to a DAK study, children burn less on candles during the Advent season than on hot drinks, on the oven, for example, when baking cookies and hot hotplates. DAK doctor Elisabeth Thomas advises parents never to underestimate their children's urge to discover. The little ones should never be left alone when baking, cooking or with candles and matches. Burns are particularly dangerous for children because their skin is even thinner, explains the expert. Even a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius would be enough to cause severe injuries for a certain duration. If eight percent of the skin is burned, there is danger to life for children. A cup of tea can already scald 30 percent of the skin, Thomas explains. (Ag)

Picture: sokaeiko