ACC media release

7 October 2013

Are your kids channelling Pink these holidays?

In her song “Don’t let me get me”, Pink sings “I’m a hazard to myself …I’m my own worst enemy” – words that will no doubt resonate with many parents these school holidays.

Every parent knows that if there’s trouble to be found, kids will probably find it. 

So it will come as no surprise that some of the trouble kids get themselves into ends up in an ACC claim.

Last year, 334,141 claims were lodged for children aged between 0 and 14 years.  That was out of a total of more than 1.7 million claims ACC received in 2012.

Boys outdid girls in the injury stakes, with 188,529 claims for boys, and 145,612 claims for girls.

Fortunately, the vast majority of claims were for minor injuries.  Soft tissue injuries, such as bruises, strains and sprains, led to around 152,600 claims, while lacerations, puncture wounds and stings resulted in around 98,100 claims.

After this, the next most common category of injury was fractures and dislocations, which resulted in around 36,700 claims.

Other injury diagnoses included:
·        dental injuries – around 13,700 claims
·        burns – around 7,600 claims
·        foreign body in eye – around 5,400 claims
·        concussion – around 5,300 claims.

ACC’s General Manager of Insurance and Prevention Services, John Beaglehole, says many minor injuries happen in the context of everyday, healthy play, so are simply part of childhood.

“Most kids love running and jumping around, which are all part of a healthy lifestyle.  In fact, kids need to take some risks in order to learn.  But at the same time, there are things you can do to help prevent injuries.”

Mr Beaglehole says how you go about this will depend on your kids’ age.

“With preschoolers, it’s basically up to parents and caregivers to manage their risks, by checking their environment and through good supervision.

“As kids get older, you still need to set boundaries, but it’s also about helping them start to learn to manage risk sensibly themselves. That means talking to them about risks and being a good role model.”

Mr Beaglehole says these school holidays, when most kids will be spending more time at home, it’s also a good time to remember simple things you can do to keep everyone – kids and adults – safer, such as:
•         sticking loose rugs and mats to the floor
•         cleaning up toys and clutter, especially in walkways
•         mopping up wet spills as soon as they happen
•         running cords from electrical appliances along the wall, rather than across the floor
•         cleaning moss from outside paths
•         positioning lighting to make sure walkways inside and outside the home can be well lit at night.

ENDS

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