Safety Advocates Unite to Educate Parents on Steps They Can Work Into Their Routine to Keep Kids Safe at Home, at School, at Play, and on the Way
Washington, DC – In honor of Safe Kids Week (May 7-13), 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 at a time when preventable injuries are on the rise.
Download our My High Five Child Safety Checklist.
Summer is an exciting time of year for families, and often includes outdoor activities, vacations, and time away from school. But it’s also a time known as “trauma season” among health professionals because unintentional injuries and deaths increase dramatically among children.
“Forty-two percent of all deaths from unintentional injuries 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 Week is a national celebration dedicated to raising awareness about child injury prevention and inspiring parents to focus on proven and practical tips to keep their kids safe, no matter where they live.”
To support parents and caregivers, Safe Kids is 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 Safe Kids coalitions across the country will work directly with children, families, and caregivers in their communities to provide tips, information, and devices. Parents can find a coalition in their area by visiting safekids.org.
Preventable injuries are the number one cause of death of children 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 1.8 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.
“Do you have the right car seat for your child’s weight, height, and age? Do you have a fire escape plan and have you practiced it like kids do at school? Are your medicines out of reach? Usually, parents have these items on their Things-to-Do list, they just find it hard to make it a priority,” said Creppy. “Safe Kids Week is a perfect time to make it happen.”
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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.
Media Contact
Kristin Davis, [email protected], 540-841-9825