Child Safety Week is an annual initiative of the Child Accident Prevention Trust aiming to increase the awareness and understanding of children's accidents and their prevention.
Child
Safety Week takes place on 23 - 29 June 2003 and the theme for this
year is "One moment changes everything."
The
message is: “Accidents happen in seconds but the effects can last a
lifetime. Take action now for child safety”
For children in
Europe between the ages of 1 and 14, death due to accidents occurs at
twice the rate of a death from cancer. Each day in Europe, 14 children
die needlessly due to an accident on the road, at home, in schools or
on playgrounds; 2240 are admitted to hospital for a severe injury and
another 28000 are treated in A & E departments.
In
Somerset, events are being organised by the Somerset Accident
Prevention Forum, a group of local Government, health authority,
Police, Fire Brigade and charitable organisations that work together to
coordinate accident prevention initiatives across the County. The Aim
of the Forum is "To help people in Somerset lead safer lives". Download
the Somerset Accident Prevention Strategy for 2001 to 2003.
See below for details of events that are being organised around Somerset.
Child
Safety Week is supported by the Somerset Accident Prevention Forum, the
Somerset NHS health community, Somerset Fire Brigade, Somerset County
Council and the Safety Camera Partnership.
Kind assistance
is being given by the various supermarkets and shopping centres for
allowing the events to take place, and support is being given by
various retailers of children's' goods.
Ten quick child safety tips
- Fit stair gates at the top and bottom of stairs, and ensure that the gates are always in use.
- When
cooking try and use the back hob-rings of your cooker and make sure pot
and panhandles are not sticking out.
- Fit safety catches to windows to prevent children falling out.
- Check your smoke alarm is working, at least twice a year.
- Keep garden tools locked away in a shed or cupboard.
- Clear up dog and cat mess.
- Fill
in garden ponds (they make good sandpits) or fence them off. Young
children can drown in just 5cm of water.
- Never leave your baby or toddler alone in the bath.
- Keep household chemicals and medicine up high and out of the reach of children.
- Check play equipment regularly for loose nuts and bolts.
Child Safety Facts
- In
1998, 2.25 million visits were made to Accident and Emergency (A&E)
departments by children aged 14 years and under.
- Everyday 6,500 children aged 14 years and under end up in A&E.
- The
majority of accidents to children aged 5 years and under happen in the
home, because they spend most of their time there.
- Boys over 9 months are approximately twice as likely to suffer accidents.
- Over 1 million children aged 14 years and under were injured in accidents in the home in 1998.
- Accidents are the most common cause of death and disability in children.
- The peak time for accidents is during the summer, on Sundays and in the evenings.
- In 1998, 428 children died following an accident.
- Children
from economically deprived backgrounds are much more likely to die as a
result of an accident than those in more wealthy families.
Reference source: BBC Online – Child Prevention Week 2003
Previous campaigns
Visit previous campaign material, which focussed on two age groups:
