Safety and Injury Prevention

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children ages 14 and under, according to the National SAFE KIDS campaign. Although this death rate has declined over the years (35 percent between 1987 and 1998), children remain at risk for unintentional injury-related death and disability. Unfortunately, one in every four children each year suffers injuries that are serious enough to require medical attention - this translates into more than 14 million children a year.

Most unintentional injuries occur between May and August and during evening hours, when children are most likely to be unsupervised. Almost half of all unintentional injuries occur in or around the home.

However, unintentional injuries are preventable. With proper education, improvements to the children's environment, enforcement of certain safety legislation and regulations, and community involvement, many injuries can be prevented. In fact, up to 90 percent of unintentional injuries can be prevented.