A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that injuries sustained whilst playing on trampolines, or on playground equipment, were among the leading cause of hospilisation amongst children aged 1 to 9 years.
The report, Hospitalised Injury in Children and Young People: 2011-12, shows that nearly 20% of injury hospitalisations were associated with falls from playground equipment for children aged 1 – 4 years of age. Of this, 40% of the falls were from trampolines.
“Falls involving trampolines have been increasing amongst young children over the last several years, and it seems the safety messages about this product are not getting through to parents” said Dr Sophie Pointer, Deputy Director of the National Injury Surveillance Unit and author of this report.
Despite numerous public health campaigns targeting water safety, as well as recent legislative changes affecting safety around swimming pools, including inflatable and rigid-walled pools easily available from major retailers, children aged 0 – 4 years are still being hospitalised due to near drowning incidents in the home.
“Whilst 75% of infant drowning events occurred in bathtubs, 58% of drowning among children aged 1-4 occurred in a swimming pool” said Dr Pointer.
For more information, read the full media release here.
