VANCOUVER -- There's been a 37 percent drop in childhood deaths over the past decade and a 34 percent drop in hospitalizations, according to a national report by Safe Kids Canada. But preventable injuries remain the number one cause of death for children. With summer holidays just weeks away, experts say we have to do be much more proactive when it comes to safety.
Connor says, "I used to go biking down my neighbour's driveway for fun because I was little and I wanted to go fast. I was biking down the driveway and I didn't see the car coming, I hit it, flipped over and made a huge dent on the top of it."
What saved Connor from serious injury was his helmut.
Connor says, "I probably would have died, if I didn't have it. I hit my head pretty hard."
Although he wasn't hospitalized, his father's convinced the trauma affected his son later on.
Richard Kinar, Connor's father, says, "he's had to overcome what we believe was a learning disability attributed to his head injury. He's doing well with extra help in school with assistance, but nevertheless, we strongly believe there was a link between his accident while he was quite young and the learning disability he's been experiencing in school."
Every year, some 300 children die and 25 thousand are hospitalized as a result of preventable injuries. It takes its toll on families and cost the healthcare system billions of dollars.
To stay safe this summer, experts say don't stop playing, but do take precautions. Always wear helmuts while biking, skateboarding and inline skating.
Shelina Babul-Wellar, Sports Injury Specialist at BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, says, "we often find and see that kids are wearing helmets too small, incorrectly and I've even seen kids wearing helmets backwards and that just negates the effect of wearing the protective equipment."
While it may be tempting to leave kids unattended, always keep a close eye on them, even in your own backyard.
Babul-Welar says, "we see a lot of trampoline injuries, especially trampolines near fencing, children fall and get quite severely injured."
Swimming pools should be properly enclosed and young children should always be closely supervised...Safe practices now can help prevent a lot of pain down the road.
Kinar says, "head injuries don't necessarily have to be catastrophic to affect somebody."
Safe Kids Canada is calling on the government to fund a national accident prevention strategy to make sure all kids benefit from accident prevention programs. Every dollar spent on a helmut, for instance, saves 29 dollars in our health care system. For more safety tips, you can pick up this brochure at Shopper Drug Mart stores or go online to www.safekidscanada.ca.
Wednesday June 7, 2006
