Safety

Six-county profile

Accidental injuries in children occur regardless of the child's general health and are not related to the parent's income or education. Caucasians and boys are at the greatest risk.

In our six-counties for 2015, only half of the children wear bike helmets and 12.5 percent of children have and injury requiring medical care annually.

Below are the percentages of parents who reported their child (ages 0-5) had an accidental injury requiring medical attention during the previous year (2015):

• CCHAPS region 11 percent
• Denton 11 percent
• Hood 6 percent
• Johnson 15 percent
• Parker 8 percent
• Tarrant 11 percent
• Wise 19 percent

Safety and prevention information and resources

The Safe Kids Tarrant County coalition current focus

Based on local/regional data, community needs assessments and the ability of Safe Kids Tarrant County (SKTC) to make a positive impact, current focus areas are:

• Child car safety The combination of children and cars can result in many dangerous situations. Buckling up the right way on every ride is the single most important thing a family can do to stay safe in the car. It is also important to be aware of other important hazards cars can pose to kids. Preventing backover and frontover incidents, heat stroke and trunk entrapment are also important to keeping your kids safe in and around vehicles.
• Drowning prevention Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 14 and under. Learn steps you can take to prevent drownings or near drownings in your pool, the lake or other areas where there is water.
• Poison prevention Poisons are in every household. Learn how you can prevent accidental poisonings from household medications and other products such as cosmetics, cleaning substances, plants, toys, pesticides, art supplies and alcohol.
• TV and furniture tip-overs Top-heavy furniture, TVs and appliances can be unsteady, and if pulled or climbed on, they can tip over and seriously injure young children. These injuries can be prevented by taking a few simple precautions. Much like childproofing with a toddler gate or electrical socket cover, TV mounts and furniture straps are important steps to keeping your family safe.

If you are interested in getting involved in what’s going on in your county, please email: safe.kids@cookchildrens.org