Tag: ATVs

Keep Your Kids Safe from These Hidden Dangers

What are the most common hidden risks and dangers to our kids that parents might overlook or not be aware of?

Did you know that you could break your child's leg while going down a slide together?
Did you know that you could break your child’s leg while going down a slide together?

Accidents are the leading cause of death for kids, with drownings, car accidents, fires, shootings, and poisonings at the top of the list.

But that doesn’t mean that you should ignore all of the other less common causes of accidents.

Did you know that riding down a slide with your kid on your lap is a common way to break their ankle or leg?

If you did, would you still ride down with them?

You can see Meadow’s leg breaking (her foot is going in the wrong direction) as she is going down the slide with her mom. Few people know this can happen and we are lucky that Meadow’s mom continues to tell her story, so that we don’t have to worry about unintentionally hurting our kids.

A few weeks later, another mom posted a video of her son’s leg breaking as they went down a slide in the UK.

Surprisingly, the AAP has actually already warned parents that “going down a slide on a parent’s lap can lead to a broken leg for small children.”

Did you know about that warning?

Keep Your Kids Safe from These Hidden Dangers

Tragically, there are other parents out there that have stories to tell about all of the other hazards listed below.

You can’t raise your kids in a bubble, but just remember that the more risks that you take, then the more likely it is that your kids will eventually get hurt.

Be careful and be mindful of these often overlooked dangers:

  • TV and furniture tip-overs – anchor furniture and TVs so that they don’t tip over and hurt your kids
  • ATVs – as injuries and deaths continue, the AAP continues to say that children and teens under age 16 years should not ride on all-terrain vehicles
  • hands, feet, untied shoes, or sandals that get trapped in escalators – tie shoes, stand in the center of the step, and hold the rail
  • elevators
  • falls from shopping carts – kids are frequently hurt in shopping cart falls and tip over incidents, which is why you shouldn’t let your kids ride in  or on a shopping cart
  • inflatable slides and bounce houses – videos of bounce houses flying away are certainly rare examples of safety hazards, but as the use of these inflatables because more common, so do the injuries
  • glass-topped tables – avoid if not made with tempered glass
  • inflatable air mattresses – suffocation danger for infants and younger toddlers if put to sleep on an air mattress
  • bunk beds – should have a guardrail on the top bunk, which should be restricted to kids who are at least 6-years-old
  • high water – don’t drive through high water – Turn Around Don’t Drown – and watch for hazards, like downed power lines, during flooding after storms
  • parade floats – falls from parade floats and kids getting run over near parade floats makes planning and supervision important
  • portable pools
  • recalled or broken toys – a toy that has broken might reveal small parts that can be a choking hazard, lead paint that can be ingested, or sharp edges
  • home exercise equipment – young kids can get injured on your stair climber, treadmill, or stationary bike
  • toys with small parts – choking hazard, which makes it important to buy your kids age-appropriate toys
  • lawn mowers – lawn mowers are dangerous and cause a lot of injuries, often when you run over a younger child that you didn’t know was there. Keep in mind that the AAP recommends minimum ages of 12 years to use a push mower and 16 to use a riding mower.
  • magnets – can lead to serious intestinal injuries if two or more magnets are swallowed
  • hoverboards – can overheat while be charged, causing fires
  • clothing – hood and neck drawstrings are a safety hazard and should be cut from young children’s clothing
  • paper shredders
  • window blind cords – kids still die after getting strangled in window blind cords
  • balloons – it is important to remember that balloons are a choking hazard for young kids, as they can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons.
  • pool, spa, and hot tub drains – faulty drain covers can lead to drownings if a child gets stuck to a hot tub drain. Teach your kids to stay away from drains and make sure drain grates or covers meet the latest safety standards.
  • liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes – can be ingested by young children if not stored in a secure place
  • laundry detergent pods – don’t let your kids eat them
  • poisons – household products and medications commonly poison kids and should be stored properly
  • home trampolines – should not be used and can lead to injuries, even when you think you are using them safely
  • BB guns – non-powder guns can serious injure kids and shouldn’t be used by younger kids or without adult supervision
  • loud toys – listen to toys before you let your kids play with them, as some toys with sirens, etc., can get very loud, especially if your child holds it up to their ear
  • windows – install window guards and stops to prevent falls from windows above the first floor because kids can’t fly
  • digging in the sand – playing in the sand is great fun and still safe, as long your kids don’t try to build deep holes that are deeper than their knees, cave-like structures, or tunnels that they crawl into, as these can suddenly collapse on top of them
  • cedar chests – kids have suffocated in cedar chests that lock automatically when closed
  • playgrounds – too little shock-absorbing surface, ropes on playground equipment (strangulation hazard), sharp edges, tripping hazards, and uncoated metal that can get hot and burn in the summer

Keep your kids safe.

Don’t overlook these hidden dangers.

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