2024 Safe Kids Month National Release

MEDIA CONTACT
Gary Karton 
[email protected]
202-604-5353
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                     
May 1, 2024

Heading into Summer Trauma Season, Safe Kids Worldwide Celebrates Safe Kids Month with Community Events and Resources to Help Parents Protect Kids from Preventable Injuries

Safety advocates unite to remind busy parents to “spring into summer safety” 
by taking time to focus on simple steps to keep kids safe 

Washington, DC – In honor of Safe Kids Month (May 2024), Safe Kids Worldwide and safety advocates across the country are teaming up to provide tips, resources, and devices to help parents and caregivers keep their kids safe during a time of the year when preventable injuries are on the rise. 

Summer is an exciting season for families, and often includes outdoor activities, vacations, and time away from school. But it’s also a time known as “summer trauma season” among health professionals because unintentional injuries and deaths increase dramatically among children.

Download our My High Five Child Safety Checklist.

“Forty-two percent of all deaths from unintentional injuries among children occur during the months of May through August,” said Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide. “During this time when parents are focused on many priorities at once, Safe Kids Month is a national celebration dedicated to raising awareness about child injury prevention and inspiring parents to ‘spring into summer safety’ by focusing on proven tips to keep their kids safe, no matter where they live.”  

To support parents and caregivers, Safe Kids is also offering helpful resources, including the My High Five Child Safety Checklist, which includes the top five tips for several important safety areas, including bike safety, child passenger safety, home safety, water safety, and sleep safety. 

In addition, experts from our nearly 400 Safe Kids coalitions across the country will work directly with children, families, and caregivers in their communities throughout the month of May to provide tips, information, and safety devices. Parents and caregivers can find a coalition in their area by visiting safekids.org. 

Preventable injuries are the number one cause of death among children ages 1-19 in the U.S., and millions more are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime. Unintentional injuries among children ages 1-4 are 1.7 times higher during the summer months compared to the rest of the year. For children ages 5-9 and 10-14, unintentional injuries are 1.5 times higher during this time period.

What’s more, fatality data show that kids from communities that are marginalized and underserved have been left behind and are dying at higher rates. For example, non-Hispanic Black children die at almost two times the rate of non-Hispanic White children. Non-Hispanic Native American children die at almost three times the rate of non-Hispanic White children, and rural children die at almost two times the rate of urban children. Poverty further increases these risks.

“At Safe Kids, a commitment to equity in child safety is critical to achieving our mission to keep all kids safe from preventable injuries whether they are at home, at play, at school, or on the way,” Creppy said. “We don’t want any parent to lose a child to an injury that can be prevented. We know how to prevent injuries and save lives, and Safe Kids Month is about raising awareness and making sure we reach all families with life-saving education, information, and devices.”

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ABOUT SAFE KIDS WORLDWIDE
Safe Kids Worldwide is a nonprofit organization working to protect kids from preventable injuries, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Safe Kids works with an extensive network of more than 400 coalitions in the U.S. and with partners in more than 30 countries to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, sleep-related deaths, and more. Safe Kids also engages in advocacy efforts to make kids safer at the federal, state, and local levels. Since 1988, Safe Kids has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by nearly 60 percent. Learn more at safekids.org.