News
6/19/2006
Survey Shows Many Parents Don't Have Adequate Information to Keep Children Safe Get On Board with Child Safety Offers Advice to Fare Through The Most Dangerous Season for Kids: Summer
(Alexandria, VA and Columbus, IN) June 19, 2006 - Get on Board with Child Safety, a national initiative spearheaded by Safety 1st, a brand manufactured and marketed by Dorel Juvenile Group USA, an operating subsidiary of Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.A, DII.B; NASDAQ: DIIB), as well as The National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), today announced results of a survey to 1,000 parents to gauge their knowledge of unintentional injuries, the leading cause of death for children ages 14 and under in the U.S. Survey results show many parents don't know the facts regarding potential hazards for children."The Get on Board with Child Safety survey demonstrates that there are significant gaps in parental knowledge of unintentional injury risks to children. Particularly in the area of car seat usage, parental knowledge tends to decrease as children age," said Michael Gittelman, M.D., medical advisor to Get on Board with Child Safety and emergency room pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "Parents need targeted information about the different unintentional injury risks to children as they grow, from infant stage to toddlers and all the way through adolescence. Since motor vehicle collisions continue to be one of the most common injuries causing morbidity and mortality to youth, best practices regarding car seat usage and automobile restraint devices should be emphasized.
"As we officially enter the summer season this week - known as the ‘season of trauma' among children's hospitals due to the escalation of emergency room visits as a result of injuries - Get On Board with Child Safety offers specific prevention strategies to address the knowledge gaps unveiled in this survey."
Parental knowledge of unintentional injury/death in children
- 61 percent of parents know suffocation/airway obstruction is the leading cause of death to babies from birth to 11 months of age.
- Less than half know falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries to children ages 1 to 4 years.
- One in three parents don't know that children can drown in as little as two inches of water.
- Only one in four know motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death of toddlers ages 1 to 4 years.
Parental knowledge regarding car seat usage
- Almost three out of four parents know it is recommended by safety experts that toddlers ride in a forward facing car seat until they reach 40 pounds.
- More than half underestimate how long children should be in a booster seat. Almost a quarter think 4- and 5-year olds ranging from 40 to 50 pounds can securely ride without a booster seat.
- Only one in three parents know children should wait until 13 years of age to ride in the front seat of a car, and more than one in four think children can securely ride in the front seat if they are 8 to 10 years in age.
Parent's General Injury Prevention Knowledge
- More than half of parents think about childproofing their home during pregnancy.
- Less than half of parents see a need to implement additional childproofing devices for a second child.
- Those parents who had childproofed report the most popular products to be outlet plugs, cabinet locks, nightlights, gates, and smoke alarms.
- One in four parents say they have not childproofed their home yet due to lack of information or guidance.
- When asked who they would trust for this guidance 8 out of 10 parents reported a pediatrician/nurse.
Summer Vigilance
Nearly half of all unintentional-injury-related deaths among children occur in the summer (Source: National Safe Kids Campaign, "Trauma Season: A National Study of the Seasonality of Unintentional Childhood Injury" May 20
