ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — The leading cause of death for young children is accidents that are completely preventable. Over 8,000 children die every year, that’s more than 20 per day. A study from the center for injury research and policy found that in 2012 and 2013 detergents pods sent one child to the hospital every 17 hours. Here are some other household items that could pose a danger to your child.
They may be fun for birthday parties, but balloons pose a choking risk for kids. In fact, 30% of all toy-related deaths come from balloons. The risk is so high that some hospitals have banned them.
And art supplies are very popular with kids to help foster creativity, but in 2009, 35,000 calls were made to poison control centers by parents concerned about their child’s exposure to art supplies. Parents should buy non-toxic materials and always supervise to make sure your child isn’t tasting the berry-scented marker.
Humidifiers also pose a hidden danger. Hot water or steam from a warm mist humidifier can pose a burn risk for young children. Get a cool mist humidifier instead.
Lastly your child may love that juice box, but the wrapper on the straw can pose a choking hazard. Be sure to keep the wrapper out of reach and throw it away immediately.
Other household items to watch out for are pen caps, earbud covers and button-sized batteries. These are things that are easy to lose and just as easy to end up in a child’s mouth. If you think your child may have swallowed a battery, call the national battery ingestion hotline at 202-625-3333.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer and Editor; Gabriella Battistiol, News Assistant.
