A serious head injury in childhood could lead to brain injuries that cause your child problems throughout their entire life.
Clearly you want to prevent any accidents, and there are a number of simple steps that you can take to avoid head injuries. Here are some of the most important to prevent head injuries in your child.
Make Sure Your Child Wears a Cycle Helmet
All children love cycling, but make sure they stay safe by getting into the habit of wearing a cycle helmet.
As soon as they start cycling, bike safety becomes essential. Buy them a new cycle helmet (not a used one because it might have been dropped), and then make sure they wear it at all times.
This is especially important when they are older and start cycling on the roads because it could very well save their life if they are involved in an accident.
Provide Head Protection for Sports
Just as you should always provide a helmet for your child when they go cycling, make sure you provide head protection for any other sports they take part in.
These could be sports they do on their own, such as skateboarding, or organized sports like baseball, hockey, and football.
Some sports are more dangerous than others, and you should be especially careful if they go horse-riding or skiing, where helmets should always be worn.
Find out about the latest safety guidelines for any sport your child wants to take part in, and make sure they keep their head protected.
Also find out about the safety measures taken if your child takes part in an organized sport, like in a club or at school. If your child receives a head injury while taking part in such an activity, this could have serious repercussions, and you may want to discuss your case with a brain injury lawyer to find out about legal representation.
Avoid Jumping into Shallow Water
When you go swimming in a pool, a lake, or in the sea, swimming safety is essential. Always find out how deep the water is before jumping in because serious injuries can occur if you jump or dive into water that is too shallow and hit your head on the ground or a rock.
Children may not take the time to check the safety of the water before jumping in, so make sure you supervise them and check where it is safe to jump or dive into the water.
Wear a Seat Belt at All Times
Head injuries can also occur in your car if you are involved in an accident. The best protection against serious injuries is to ensure everyone in the car uses a seat belt, so make sure your child’s seat belt is properly fastened before you start driving. You should also make sure they have a suitable booster seat for their age and size.
Clear Up Trip Hazards Around the Home
Even simple falls can cause serious head injuries, so make sure your home is safe. Always be on the lookout for possible hazards, and clear up toys, wires, and rugs to prevent trips from occurring.
Use a Safety Gate
If you have very young children, you may want to use a safety gate to prevent them from going up and down the stairs. Falls from the stairs can present a serious risk of head injuries, so always be careful if you have stairs in your home.
You may also want to use window guards to prevent young children from having accidents with windows because a fall from a window could be very serious.
Prevent Falls from the Bed
Falling from the bed can lead to head injuries in your child, so make an effort to prevent this from happening. If they sleep on the top of a bunk bed, make sure there is a safety barrier preventing them from falling out.
Supervise Young Children Carefully
Younger children can get up to all sorts of mischief, so make sure you keep an eye on them at all times.
If you have a toddler who loves to crawl or run around, stay close by to keep them out of trouble. Even a chair can present a risk of a fall if a child is allowed to climb on it unsupervised, so make sure you help your young child to avoid such risks.
Keep Your Child Safe from Head Injuries
While serious head injuries in children are fairly rare, they can happen to anyone. By taking some simple security steps, you can help to reduce the risk of accidents, thereby protecting your child from potentially serious head injuries that could affect them for the rest of their lives. So always take adequate safety measures, and help to keep your child safer.
Josh Turner works in the pediatrician department of his city hospital. A Father himself, he expresses his thoughts through his articles, hoping that if just 1 person reads and takes in his information, it will make 1 child safer.
