Home can be a dangerous place for young children. Dr. Kieran J. Phelan, a head researcher at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital explains, “The home environment is the most common location of injury for younger children.” Every year, around 2800 children die from preventable injuries in their homes, and millions more children end up in the emergency room for the same reasons. Good news — researchers at the hospital recently discovered that childproofing a home can reduce injuries by 70% for young children.
The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center recently conducted a longitudinal study analyzing the effects of childproofing a home. The study documented two groups of families with newborns. One group had carefully installed safety devices and the other group had not. After two years of observations, researchers discovered that injuries were significantly reduced for children living in homes with properly installed safety devices.
As with any children’s product, check your childproofing supplies against the list of recalls at CPSC. There have been recalls for small parts and ineffective products.