Falls are the leading cause of trauma admissions for kids to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and falls down stairs are one of the leading reasons. In the United States, over 100,000 children are injured every year because of stairs and at DHMC in 2012, there was a significant increase over the previous two years, almost triple the number of children injured.
Stairwells are nothing more than big holes in the floor, and once a child begins to fall, gravity takes over and quite often they will go all the way to the bottom, suffering head, spinal, and orthopedic injuries in the process. These injuries can be quite severe and require significant rehabilitation.
Parents and caregivers should take a look at their home and are encouraged to do the following:
· Install safety gates at the top and the bottom of staircases. Accordion-style or tension gates are not recommended. They are very hazardous because your baby can get his or her head caught in it and become strangled.
· Actively supervise toddlers on stairs. Hold their hands when climbing up and down stairs.
· Make sure stairs are clear of toys and other objects.
· Ensure that all open stairwells have railings around them that a child cannot wriggle through.
· Have strong, secure railings on all stairs.
· Baby walkers are not safe. Instead, consider a stationary walker that allows a child to move in place but does not have wheels.
Young children are still developing mobility and coordination and can be prone to injuries caused by falls. Head injuries are associated with most deaths and severe injuries resulting from falls. Make sure the area around little kids is safe to toddle, tippy toe and topple. Always actively supervise your little one as he explores around the home.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK: Dartmouth-Hitchcock is a national leader in patient-centered health care and building a sustainable health system. Founded in 1893, the system includes New Hampshire’ s only Level 1 trauma center and its only air ambulance service, as well as the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the Children’ s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the state’ s only Children’ s Hospital Association-approved, comprehensive, full-service children's hospital. As an academic medical center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock provides access to nearly 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine, as well as world-class research at the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
For more information please call the Safe Kids New Hampshire at 877-783-0432