safety around the house statistics

Safety Around the House Facts & Statistics

Parents often spend too much time worrying about strangers and outside dangers, when the reality is that your kids are in the most danger while in their own home and surrounded by familiar people. Here's how home dangers stack up:

1. Each year there are around 3.4 million emergency room visits due to home accidents.

2. About 2,000 children age 14 and under die each year from home accidents. Around 80% of these are under the age of 4.

3. Around 875 children under 4 die each year form choking or suffocation.

4. Small children put toys in their mouths on an average of 20 times every hour.

5. Yearly, poison control centers receive about 2.4 million calls related to accidental poisoning in children. More than 1 million of these calls involve children under 5.

6. About 117,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year for burns, most non-fire related. Over 2000 of these are caused by fireworks.

7. There are around 4.7 million pet dog attacks each year in the United States, most of which are on children. About a dozen kids are mauled to death each year, and another 400,000 to 500,000 require medical treatment.

8. 217,000 children are rushed to the hospital each year for toy-related injuries.

9. It costs an average of $700-1,500 to have an expert come in and childproof your home. This cost can be recouped in the prevention of a single injury.

10. Across the USA, around 80,000 children are taken to emergency rooms each year because of accidental poisonings involving household cleaning products, and around 30 die. About 70% of non-fatal poisonings involve children ages 1 to 2.

11. Microwave-related burns send around 2,000 children to the emergency room each year.

12. Pets cause nearly an estimated 87,000 falls requiring emergency room treatment every year in the U.S., with most injuries occuring in children and those 35 to 54 years old, though people 75 or older suffered the most serious damage.

13. Lawn mower accidents cause around 70,000 injuries each year, including cuts and amputations.

14. Each year, 67 children ages 14 years and under die from an unintentional gun shooting.

More than just statistics . . .

*Butterknife imbedded into boys head
After having the knife removed and being patched up with a few stitches, Tyler's father says he is no worse for the ware because of it and calls the ...

References:

1) Safe Kids USA, Preventing Accidental Injury. Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW)
2) Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW). Home Safety. Washington (DC): SKW, 2007.
3) Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW). Choking Injuries. Washington (DC): SKW, 2007.
4) Dr. Dana Best, a pediatrician with the Children's National Medical Center
5) U.S. Poison Control Center

6) Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW). Burn and Scalds Safety. Washington (DC): SKW, 2007.

7) CDC; Ian Urbina, “Attacks Prompt Launch of Dangerous Dogs Registry.” The Denver Post,
7/23/07
8) Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW). Toy Safety Fact Sheet. Washington (DC): SKW, 2007
9) International Association of Child Safety
10) Consumer Product Safety Commision
11) Consumer reports, "Microwave ovens," February 2009, p.43
12) Jordan Lite, "Have a nice trip," Scientific American, Vol. 300(6): 32, June 2009
13) National Program for Playground Safety

14) Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW). Guns and Firearm Safety. Washington (DC): SKW, 2007.