{"id":3887,"date":"2021-05-28T10:48:23","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T10:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/wl\/ILandEblog\/?p=3887"},"modified":"2021-05-28T10:50:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T10:50:58","slug":"3887","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/wl\/ILandEblog\/2021\/05\/28\/3887\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Child Accident Prevention Trust offers the following advice relating to falls<\/h3>\n
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Falls are the most common cause of accidental injury to children. While most falls aren\u2019t serious \u2013 active children often fall over \u2013 some falls can lead to death or long-term disability. So it\u2019s important to get the message across about the simple things that parents and carers can do prevent serious falls.<\/div>\n

How many children are injured in falls?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/header>\n
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  • Every day, 45 children under five are admitted to hospital following a serious fall. Stumbles are to be expected, but more serious falls which lead to head injuries can have a lifelong impact.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Falls are one of the most common causes of childhood accidents.<\/li>\n
  • Falls are also a serious risk for older children. Each year, around 27,000 children aged 5-14 are admitted to hospital after a fall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    How can falls be prevented?<\/h3>\n

    One of the most common reasons that young children fall is that their rapid development takes parents and carers by surprise. A toddler might take his parents by surprise when he climbs on something that he had previously been unable to reach – how many times have you heard someone say \u201cI didn\u2019t know he could do that\u201d? It\u2019s important to guide parents through the different risks that are presented at each stage of a child\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

    What do we mean by a serious fall?<\/h3>\n

    When we talk about falls, we\u2019re not talking about the stumbles and trips that young children experience on a daily basis. In our opinion, they\u2019re not preventable accidents. Well, not preventable in a way that\u2019s conducive to bringing up a healthy, happy, well-rounded child!<\/p>\n

    We\u2019re talking about serious falls: a toddler falling from an open window; a new-born infant falling head-first from a bed; a crawling baby falling down a flight of stairs.<\/p>\n

    Because they can result in head injuries, serious falls are one of the most traumatic and devastating accidents a baby or child can have. In a worst case scenario, a child can suffer from learning disabilities and personality changes. The consequences can last for a lifetime and affect the whole family.<\/p>\n

    Windows and balconies<\/h3>\n

    After that seemingly never-ending winter, it feels great to open windows and balcony doors and let the fresh air in.<\/p>\n

    But toddlers and young children can and, too often, do fall out of windows or from balconies and suffer serious injuries. In fact, one child under five is admitted to hospital every day after falling from a building.<\/p>\n

    As soon as they\u2019ve learnt to walk, toddlers will start to climb and explore \u2013 it\u2019s a key part of their physical development. They are getting stronger and more agile, starting to learn about the world and become inquisitive, which is great! However, it won\u2019t come as any surprise to hear that most falls happen because parents are unaware of their child\u2019s newly-acquired abilities.<\/p>\n

    Obviously, you can\u2019t supervise them 100% of the time, but with a few simple adjustments to the home, serious falls from windows are easily preventable:<\/p>\n