The latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has some uplifting news: Accidental childhood deaths decreased by about 30 percent between 2000 and 2009. While traffic fatalities account for over half of these accidental deaths each year, the number of such deaths actually declined by 41 percent during the study period. According to the report, which examined death certificates for those aged 19 and under from all 50 states, there were also declines in mortality rates associated with drowning, fires, and falls.
Despite the encouraging statistics, however, child injury still remains a serious concern. For infants younger than one year old, there was a 54 percent increase in reports of suffocation. And among teens between the ages of 15 and 19, poisoning rates climbed 91 percent, mostly due to prescription drug overdose. The CDC reminds adults to properly store and dispose of medications in order to reduce the risk of accidental poisoning and prevent drug sharing.
In contrast to the crescendo of alarmist and agenda-driven concerns voiced by a host of activist groups posing as public-health experts, ACSH focuses on the actual risks children face. And thus we remind parents to always make sure seatbelts are properly fastened, medications are safely stowed away, and bike helmets are always worn.
