Childhood Injury Facts 

While unintentional injury-related deaths in children under the age of 14 have decreased more than 40 percent between 1987 and 2001, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death for that age range according to Safe Kids USA. Each year, one of every four children (14 million) sustains an injury serious enough to require medical attention.

Car seats
Make sure your child is properly restrained.

• Never put a rear-facing child in front of an air bag
• Use only rear-facing seats until your child is at least 20 pounds and one-year old
• Use belt-positioning, forward-facing booster seats for children from 40 to 80 pounds and four feet, nine inches tall
• Don't use your car's seat belts until they fit your child correctly—about 80 pounds and four feet, nine inches tall. The shoulder strap should fit across your child's chest, not neck.
• Children should not be permitted to ride in the front seat until they are at least 12 years old

Poison
Call the Iowa Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222. If possible, have the product label so you can give the label information.

• Always close the container as soon as you've finished using it
• Keep pills in their original container
• Keep all medicines and chemicals out of reach—and out of sight—of children
• Refer to medicine as "medicine," not "candy"
• Clean out the medicine cabinet periodically and safely dispose of unused/outdated medicines

Sun

• Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Stay in the shade when possible
• Use a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays and has a sun protection factor
• (SPF) of 15 or greater, even on cloudy days
• Sunscreens should be used anytime you will be in the sun for more than 20 minutes. Reapply every two hours.
• Use a lip balm containing sunscreen
• Protect your eyes with sunglasses

Helmets 
Nationally, bicyclists aged 14 and under face a five times greater risk for injury than older cyclists.

Even a low-speed fall from a bicycle on a trail can cause a serious head injury.

"Your child needs to wear a helmet on every bike ride, no matter how short or how close to home. Children learn by observing you—when you ride your bike, put on your helmet,"  says Lori Christensen, MD, University of Iowa Children's Hospital pediatrician.

A helmet should be worn so that it is level on the head, not tipped forwards or backwards. The strap should be securely fastened and you should not be able to move the helmet in any direction. If needed, the helmet's sizing pads can help improve the fit.