Many accidents and injuries occur while children are at play. From bike riding to swimming to organized sports, what’s fun can also sometimes be dangerous. Here are some facts & statistics regarding children’s safety during recreational activities:

1. Around 1,000 children die each year from drowning, and several thousand more drown but survive, often suffering permanent injuries such as brain damage in the process.

2. Swim lessons save lives. According to research from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, a mere 3% of kids ages 1 to 4 who died from drowning had taken formal swimming lessons, versus 26% of those that survived. Only 5% of those who died could float on their backs for 10 seconds,’ compared with 18% of the living children.

3. About 200,000 children go to the emergency room every year because of playground injuries. Around 90,000 of those injuries are serious, including fractures, concussions, and amputations. About 15 kids die from these injuries each year. Most serious injuries occur from falls from the equipment.

4. Around 105,000 hospital-treated injuries in the U.S. each year are linked to trampolines.

5. Every year, about 250,000 children will be admitted to emergency rooms for bicycle related injuries.

6. Around 2.4 million children ages 5 to 18 end up in the emergency room due to sports related injuries each year.

 

References:

1. Find Reference
2. Liz Szabo, “Swim lessons are fun and save lives,” USA Today, 3-5-09, p. 6D
3. Chrissy Cianflone, Safe Kids USA
4. Consumer Reports, “Oops! Americans report risky behavior,” March 2009, p. 7 5. Find reference
6. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; USA Today, 3-30-08, D9