The Most Common Toddler Injuries

Those who don't think that they need to childproof their home are usually the ones who have never experienced the devastation of having to rush their toddler to the emergency room. A painful experience like this often leaves a lasting imprint on a parent's mind because they don't want to have to go through it ever again. That is why, here at The Stair Barrier, we are doing our best to educate parents about home safety. The most effective way to do this is with some basic information about which injuries toddlers are most susceptible to. That way, parents can arm themselves with ways to prevent them from happening. Read on for a list of the four most common toddler injuries.

Falls

Falling down the stairs is the most common way that toddlers get hurt. According to the Center for Disease Control, about 8,000 children a day are treated in emergency rooms all over the United States for this type of injury. The main reason for this is an absence of protective baby gates at the top and bottom of stairs. Without anything to block them, children climbing on the stairs unsupervised end up falling backwards, sustaining head, neck, and back injuries. Sometimes, they even die from the impact of the fall. However, the most severe injuries that occur are in babies under the age of 12-months-old who fall while being carried by an adult down the stairs.

Burns

The next most common injury is a burn from either steam or hot liquids. This type of injury can also be prevented by indoor baby gates. Just set one in the entrance of the kitchen door. That way, toddlers won't have access to pots and pans full of hot food. A gate by the bathroom door is also helpful because children that have access to the bathtub could turn the hot water on by themselves, which could burn them.

Poisoning

When cleaning chemicals and medicines are within reach, toddlers have easy access to them. This increases their likeliness of being poisoned. In fact, over 300 small children have to be treated in emergency rooms for poisoning from chemicals or medicines a day. Parents who don't have doors to the area where these products are kept might want to purchase a retractable stair gate to stretch across for protection.

Drowning

Besides being burned by scalding hot water in the bathtub, children can also drown. This type of injury is the most common in toddlers because they aren't strong enough to pull themselves out of the water when in distress. Families who have swimming pools or hot-tubs on their property have an increased likelihood of their children drowning in the deep water, which is why baby gates should be placed in the doorways that give access to the water.

Knowing the risks can help prevent your child from facing a serious injury.