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Statistically speaking, your child’s school or day care facility is probably among the safest
places on the planet for them to be. Facilities that cater to children generally take a lot more initiative to safety-proof the environment than do even the most conscientious of parents. They are generally staffed by people who go through CPR and first aid training every year or two. Yet anywhere that children gather, it’s inevitable, you are going to have injuries. With that in mind, here are some interesting things to know about school safety

Statistically speaking, your child’s school or day care facility is probably among the safest
places on the planet for them to be. Facilities that cater to children generally take a lot more initiative to safety-proof the environment than do even the most conscientious of parents. They are generally staffed by people who go through CPR and first aid training every year or two. Yet anywhere that children gather, it’s inevitable, you are going to have injuries. With that in mind, here are some interesting things to know about school safety

1. Around 17,000 children suffer injuries requiring hospital treatment each year while riding the school bus. This is out of 23 million kids overall who ride the bus.

2. There are around xxx injuries at school each year, xxx which require medical treatment, and a handful of deaths that occur on school grounds. The most common sources of serious injury are playground accidents and allergic reactions or medical emergencies.

3. Around 250,000 kids are spanked or subjected to corporal punishment every year at school. Boys are 3-times as likely to be struck, and minorities also receive a disproportionate share of the physical discipline doled out. Contrary to popular belief, physical discipline by teachers is still legal in many states

4. Around 4% of teachers admit to using illegal drugs within the past month. Scarier yet, such surveys, even when anonymous, tend to under-report actual prevalence by 2-3 times. I guess teachers are human too.

5. A 2008 USA Today investigative report found that 435 schools have levels of toxins in the outside air higher than what the EPA considers a serious health risk.

6 There were 60,000 physical-education-related emergency room visits among children ages 5 to 18 in schools in 2007. Most involved children running into equipment, structures, or each other, as well as heat stroke, fainting, and other medical complications.


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