Falls are a most common cause of injury for children of all ages. Last year, more than 6,000 children were hospitalised from falls.

Young kids fall from nursery furniture and down stairs; school-aged kids, especially those aged 5 to 9, often fall from play equipment.

 

All your nursery furniture should have a label showing it meets New Zealand standards. Older and second-hand equipment often won’t have a label, so you need to check and maintain it carefully. Make sure you use equipment properly, to keep kids safe.

 

Always use a harness in a high chair – ideally a 5-point harness with shoulder straps. You may think your child always sits quietly, until the first time they stand and fall out. Same with your pram or stroller. With a change table too, a baby may roll ‘for the first time’ and suffer concussion or fractures; always keep one hand on the child. Put baby bouncers on the floor – never on a table.

 

Prams can tip over with heavy bags hooked over the handles, so it’s best to get a pram with room underneath for shopping. Don’t leave a young baby asleep in the pram when you get home. Babies don’t fall, but have suffocated after moving into a position where they couldn’t breathe. Of the children who die in nursery equipment accidents, most are babies strangled or smothered in cots or prams. Portable cots can be risky too if they collapse; always make sure the sides are ‘clicked’ securely into place.

 

For older kids, put non-slip mats in the bath and shower and put a 30cm layer of tanbark underneath outdoor play equipment. Thinking ‘safety’ will soon become second nature.

 

 

5 simple measures to keep young kids safe from falls:

 

1. Take a tape measure and check your cot.

There should be at least 500mm (ideally 600mm) from the top of the mattress to the top of the cot sides. The gap between the mattress and cot sides should be no more than 10mm. The cot bars should be 50 to 80mm apart. Keep the cot away from heaters and curtain cords and make sure a child can’t drop the sides.

 

2. Fit safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.

 

Gates are also useful at the back door or any doorway you like to keep open for air and light, but don’t want kids to go through.

 

3. Always use the harness in prams and highchairs.

 

Not only for babies - even a 2-year old can fall out and suffer fractures or concussion.

 

4. Don’t use a baby walker.

 

Experts don’t recommend them. They may keep kids amused but children are seriously injured in them every year. Baby walkers can move at a metre per second, so kids can reach stairs, heaters and hot drinks before you can stop them.

 

5. Make sure kids can’t fall out of windows or over balconies.

 

Fit a latch to stop windows opening more than 100mm. Make sure kids can’t climb on balcony railings and remove pot plants and furniture they can use to climb up on.

 

Further information

 

Accidents can’t always be avoided. A well-prepared first aid kit is an essential for your home. St John's Ambulance New Zealand offers a range of kits for sale online.

 

The Accident Compensation Corporation has a fact page on slips and falls in and around the home, along with downloadable guides.

 

St John's Ambulance New Zealand offer a number of first aid course so you are prepared in the event of an accident.

 

You can check product recalls at the consumer website.