Cape Town - Childsafe, an initiative of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa (CAPFSA), have joined forces with Woolworths to launch a campaign that aims to raise awareness about the increased risks to children over the summer holiday.
While South Africans welcome the relaxation and fun of the holiday season, few are aware that this is the most dangerous time of year for children, says a press release.
Childsafe maintains South Africa’s only paediatric injury database and every year, admissions of injured children to the Red Cross Children’s hospital spike over the months of November and December.
The types of injuries that increase include those resulting from road accidents, drowning, burns, poisoning, falls and many more.
Factors that amplify the risks to children at this time include increased road travel, lack of supervision while schools are closed and parents at work, gatherings at homes of friends and families that may not be childproof or expose children to predators, the excessive alcohol consumption of adults, increased outdoor activity such as swimming, walking the streets with friends and hiking.
“It may seem like a harsh view, but the reality is that most accidents experienced by children under the age of eight years could, and should have been prevented by the adults taking care of them,” says Professor Sebastian van As, President of Childsafe and Head of the Trauma Unit at Cape Town’s Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
“Young children are not responsible for their accidents as they are too immature to comprehend dangers. Children are absorbed in being children; they are not equipped to keep themselves safe, that’s the role of their parents or other care-givers. If you take a walk through the wards of Red Cross Children’s Hospital, you’ll find that more than half of all patients are here because of accidents that could have been prevented.”
The latest Childsafe and Woolworths campaign highlights the fact that ‘kids see things differently’, and cannot be responsible for getting into unsafe circumstances that can lead to injury.
It builds on the success of a previous initiative of this three- year partnership, and once again reminds caregivers that ‘YOU’RE BIGGER, BE THE ADULT’. The engaging execution of the campaign message, which spans TV, radio, print, digital and in-store media, focuses on the endearing fantasy world of young children to highlight their need for caregivers to make their environments as safe as possible.
Follow these 13 Childsafe tips this summer:
1. Buckle up your child for every journey, even if the trip is really short. Children should be in approved safety seats. Car safety seats reduce the risk of death of passengers by 71percent for infants and 54percent for toddlers. Holding your baby in your arms instead is extremely dangerous.
2. Never let children stand in cars or unrestrained on the back of bakkies. At just 25km/hour a small child can be killed in an emergency stop if his/her head hits the windscreen or pavement.
3. Check your car regularly -- brakes, lights, shock absorbers, tyres etc. to reduce the risk of accidents
4. Never drink and drive.
5. Check for children behind your vehicle before reversing.
6. Make sure kids are wearing light-coloured clothing with reflective strips so that they’re more visible on the road.
7. Teach children to walk on the pavement facing oncoming traffic.
8. Children under six years old should always be accompanied by an adult or child older than ten.
9. Children should always be supervised and only play in a fenced area with a self-latching gate - all latches should be out of reach of tiny hands. Accidents often occur when kids run into the road to retrieve a ball.
10. Teach your child to swim as soon as possible.
11. Always supervise kids swimming at the beach or in the pool, even if they’re using floating aids like inflatable armbands or tubes.
12. Empty baths, tubs and other containers after use.
13. Always cover buckets of water, like the nappy bucket, with a secure lid and keep out of reach of children.
For more ideas on how you can help prevent childhood accidents and keep your kids safe over the summer, visit www.childsafe.org.za - and remember, you’re bigger; be the adult.
IOL, adapted from a press release.