In a world where we can get caught up in the daily grind, we sometimes lose sight of the smaller things, the most important things. Next week, Sept. 1 through Sept. 7, is National Childhood Injury Prevention Week. I want to utilize this week to offer some helpful tips and reminders.
This summer, there have been 23 deaths in this country due to people accidently leaving children in hot, locked cars. According to Safe Kids USA, 443 children died from heat stroke after being left in locked cars between the years of 1998 to 2009. Childhood injuries are the cause of approximately 16,000 deaths in the United States yearly. More than 70 percent of these fatalities are the result of accidental injury. According to a study by Washington University in St. Louis, the rate of Missouri’s child fatalities due to unintentional injuries in 2008 was 20.02 per 100,000 children. These numbers could be significantly lowered by merely putting basic common sense into action.
Infants fall prey to one unintentional injury two-thirds more often than any other age group. Suffocation is a deadly potential for a baby, and it is most often connected to an infant’s sleeping conditions. Please remember that infants don’t have the same muscle control as older children, and sleeping positions, as well as bedding, can be incredibly harmful to a child who has moved into the wrong pose.
As toddlers become more adventurous, there are new situations that arise. Motor vehicle crashes account for one-third of injury-related deaths in toddlers, while one-quarter is attributed to drowning accidents. Vehicle crashes are certainly a large worry, but correct use of both age-appropriate child restraints and seat belts can make a significant difference in current numbers. Most toddler injuries during crashes come from incorrectly used child restraints. Drowning, unfortunately, is most often a case of a moment’s inattention. Unfenced swimming pools are a large factor, but so, too, are natural bodies of water, such as ponds or streams, and, increasingly, water features within a home’s landscape. Vigilance is a key factor in preventing accidental drowning at any point. However, steps can be taken to install proper fencing to secure pools, hot tubs, or spas to reduce the chances of a fatal accident.
Once children reach school-age and through adolescence, the most significant threat again comes from motor vehicle accidents. In addition, younger children should be taught to not ride in the back of pick-up trucks and to respect yard equipment, such as lawn mowers and off-road vehicles.
It can be hard to impart upon any 15- or 16-year-old the responsibility of operating a vehicle and the effects that can accompany a lapse in focus while driving. However, that particular fact is what leads to so many young lives lost each year. At this time, education and preparation are two of the biggest weapons parents have in their arsenal against teen driving accidents. Recently, the legislature passed a law prohibiting those 21 years and younger from texting while driving.
Our children are the future of this state and nation. Keeping them safe is a parent’s highest priority. By utilizing common sense and forethought, we can achieve this goal and watch our future develop into fine young men and women.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
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