Young Children and Falls

Fall prevention tips

• Always supervise young children at play.
• If you have outdoor playground equipment, make sure the surface underneath and around it is shockabsorbent and soft. The surface should be covered with loose fill, materials such as hardwood mulch, pea gravel or sand; or you could install synthetic surfaces such as rubber tiles, mats or poured surfaces.
• Use child and playground equipment which are safe and well-maintained.
• Never leave babies or toddlers or infants unattended on beds, couches, changing tables or equipment.
• Use durable, balanced furniture that will not tip over easily.
• Do not allow children to climb on furniture, stools or ladders.
• Discourage running indoors.
• Secure or remove loose mats and rugs.
• Use skid-proof mats or stickers in the bath.
• Place safety gates at the top and bottom of all stairs.
• Pick up toys and other objects from the floor and clean up spills quickly.
• Install window guards on upstairs windows.
• Get rid of baby walkers.
• Remove a misbehaving child from play and explain how his/her actions could hurt someone.
• Teach your children how to play safely, involve them in making rules for active play, and enforce these rules consistently.

What to do in case of a serious injury

Most falls will result in only minor injuries needing minimal first aid. In the event of a serious injury, remember to keep calm and act quickly. Assess the injury event, and follow these steps:

• Survey the scene. Prevent injuries to the rescuer or messenger.
• Check for injury. Do a secondary survey for specific injuries. Look, listen and feel, but do not move the injured child or person.
• Find out what happened. Who is hurt? How? What caused this?
• Check for life-threatening problems.
• Call the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system (9-1-1) for help if needed.
• Comfort and reassure the injured person.