Did you know that injuries are the greatest threat to the life and health of your child? Injuries are the leading cause of death of school-aged children. Yet you can prevent most major injuries!

At age 5, your child is learning to do many things that can cause serious injury, such as riding a bicycle or crossing a street. Although children learn quickly, they still cannot judge what is safe. You must protect your child. You can prevent common major injuries by taking a few simple steps.

Bike Safety

Your child should always wear a helmet when riding a bike. Buy the helmet when you buy the bike! Make sure your child wears a helmet every time he or she rides. A helmet helps prevent head injuries and can save your child’s life.

Never let your child ride a bike in the street. Your child is too young to ride in the street safely.

Be sure that the bike your child rides is the right size. Your child must be able to place the balls of both feet on the ground when sitting on the seat with hands on the handlebars. Your child’s first bicycle should have coaster brakes. Five-year-olds are often unable to use hand brakes correctly.

Street Safety

Your child is in danger of being hit by a car if he or she darts out into the streetwhile playing. Take your child to the playground or park to play. Show your child the curb and teach him or her to always stop at the curb and never cross the street without a grown-up.

Water Safety

Now is the time to teach your child to swim. Even if your child knows how to swim, never let him or her swim alone. Teach your child how to turn upright, float, tread water, and get to safety.

Do not let your child play around any water (lake, stream, pool, or ocean) unless an adult is watching. The adult must be supervising closely and continuously without distractions like reading or using a phone. Never let your child swim in canals or any fast-moving water.

Teach your child to never dive into water unless an adult has checked the depth of the water. And when your child is on any boat, be sure your child is wearing a Coast Guard–certified life jacket.

Fire Safety

Household fires are a threat to your child’s life, as well as your own. Install smoke alarms on every level in your house, especially in furnace and sleeping areas, and test the alarms every month. It is best to use smoke alarms that use long-life batteries, but if you do not, change the batteries once a year.

Teach your child not to play with matches or lighters, and keep matches and lighters out of your child’s reach. Also, do not smoke in your home. Many home fires are caused by a lit cigarette that has not been put out completely.

Car Safety

Car crashes are one of the greatest dangers to your child’s life and health. The crushing forces to your child’s brain and body in a crash or sudden stop, even at low speeds, can cause severe injuries or death. To prevent these injuries, correctly use a car safety seat or belt-positioning booster seat and seat belt every time your child is in the car. Your child should use a car safety seat with a harness until he reaches the seat’s upper weight limit or his ears come to the top of the seat; then he should use a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is not big enough to fit in the adult seat belt yet. The safest place for all children to ride is the back seat. Set a good example. Make sure you and other adults buckle up too!

Firearm Hazards

Children in homes where guns are present are in more danger of being shot by themselves, their friends, or family members than of being injured by an intruder. Even if your child is taught never to touch a gun, if there is a gun in the house a child’s curiosity can lead to severe injury or death. It is best to keep all guns out of the home. Handguns are especially dangerous. If you choose to keep a gun, keep it unloaded and in a locked place, with the ammunition locked separately. Ask if the homes where your child visits or is cared for have guns and how they are stored.

Would you be able to help your child in case of an injury? Put emergency numbers by or on your phone today. Learn first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Be prepared...for your child’s sake!

Disclaimer

Patient education handouts from TIPP—The Injury Prevention Program help pediatricians implement injury prevention counseling for parents of children newborn through 12 years of age.

The information in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

© 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics. All rights reserved.