Child Safety
Falls are the most common cause of injuries in children, over 8,000 children are admitted to hospital each year due to a fall and falls from heights can be especially serious. In younger children, the common types of falls are in playgrounds, bunk beds, on playground equipment and falls from buildings or structures. Each year approximately 50 children fall from a window or balcony. For a small number of children, this fall will be fatal.
Other common injury related hospitalisations are due to:
- Being struck by an object - 1,700 children per year;
- Motor vehicle / transport accidents - over 1,400 per year;
- Burns - over 780 people per year;
- Poisoning - over 750 people per year.
These causes of hospitalisations do not reflect some of the very tragic causes of deaths due to injury to children. Motor vehicle accidents and drowning cause the highest number of deaths in children each year.The NSW Child Safety campaign "think child safe" is aimed at providing information to parents and carers on effective and simple preventive action to protect children from falling from windows and balconies. Think child safe promotes the following messages:
- Ensure windows cannot be opened more than 10cm, except by an adult OR have a securely fitted window guard
- Remember that fly screens give no protection against falls from windows
- Keep objects that a child can use to stand or climb on away from windows (including beds, cupboards, chairs and other furniture)
- Keep objects that a child can use to stand or climb on away from balconies (including pot plants, outdoor furniture, boxes etc)
- Ensure balcony railings are at least 1m high (preferable 1.3m high), with no gaps wider than 12.5cm
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