“As parents, we place our most precious cargo in strollers and carriers every day”, Roberts said in the statement.
Advertisement
“The majority of injuries we saw were head injuries, which is scary considering the fact that traumatic brain injuries and concussions in young children may have long-term consequences on cognitive development”, affirmed Roberts.
In 2010 baby gear maker Graco recalled two million strollers after receiving reports that four infants got trapped in them and strangled to death. Most of the injuries (39% for strollers and 48% for carriers) were soft tissue injuries.
An alarming rise has been witnessed in the emergency room visits owing to injuries being suffered by children in a stroller or an infant carrier.
For carrier-related accidents, slightly more than half the patients were boys, and the overwhelming majority – 89 percent – were less than a year old.
Almost 7 percent of children injured in a carrier accident and slightly more than 2 percent injured by a stroller had to be hospitalized.
Although most of the children went home shortly after they were treated in the ER, about 7 percent of those with carrier-related injuries and 2 percent with stroller-related injuries were hospitalized.
The good news is that these injuries are decreasing, the team led by Erica Fowler at Nationwide Children’s Hospital reported.
Always buckle up. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions for properly securing children in strollers or carriers.
Roberts noted that she and her colleagues looked only at injuries treated by hospital emergency rooms.
“Newer is better”, Kaye added, explaining how all newly manufactured strollers are required, as of September 2015, to meet mandatory standards which address common injuries. “Avoid placing any weighted objects on the handlebars of the stroller or carrier since this may lead to a tip over with catastrophic outcome”, he added. It was a heart-stopping thing to see; thankfully the baby appeared unharmed and hopefully the parents shaken up enough to realize that those straps and buckles aren’t there just for looks. I think it’s more of an eyeopener to make them realize that it’s more important to use the products you have.
Keep it out of the sun. Also, resist the urge to overload your stroller with other stuff, and don’t let a little sibling push. About 16 percent of stroller injuries happened when the product tipped over, 9 percent happened when the child tripped over the stroller, and 5 percent happened when the child got an arm or leg caught in the stroller.
Advertisement
Keep carriers low. Low-to-the-ground carriers can shorten the distance of a fall, should one occur as a result of a tip-over. Because if an unfortunate accident does happen, the child won’t fall as far. “And don’t allow children to climb into the stroller by themselves, because this is how it tips”.
