It is hard to imagine anything more tragic than the death or injury of a child who was completely healthy a minute ago. Traumatism today is not only poorly understood, not fully understood and meaningful, but also an important economic, medical and social problem. Among the causes of death, traumatism steadily ranks third. And, despite numerous activities, comprehensive research and prevention programs, no tangible positive changes are expected. A special place is occupied by children's injuries. How to protect the child from accidental injuries? And is it possible? Maybe! You will be convinced of this by reading this article.
Statistics, meanwhile, is sad: in the US, for example, up to 10,000 children per year die of accidents. In Russia in 2009, the most important causes of death of children under 18 were injuries and accidents. They were 34%, and among children from one year to 4 years - 47%. In the structure of the primary morbidity of children, accidents, injuries and poisonings take the fourth place (the first - diseases of respiratory organs, the second - infectious diseases and lesions by parasites, the third - pathologies of the nervous system). For the year on average, every seventh child is injured, one in three requires long-term outpatient treatment, one in ten - hospitalization. And these are only registered cases! ..
Behavior must be educated!
In most cases, the trauma received by the child is not just a case, but the result, more precisely, the defect of education. Child psychologists who have studied the role of the family and the probability of injury, have identified a number of factors that affect the frequency of injury. Among them - drunkenness in the family, indifferent attitude to the child, the lack of any supervision over the children and control over their behavior.
City children, regardless of age, are in an extremely traumatic environment, their living space is sharply narrowed by the crowded development, a huge number of vehicles on the streets and in yards. Even in the apartment of a young child waiting for a lot of dangers: accidentally left in a prominent place scissors, a lost sewing needle, slippery floor. A beautiful oriental vase, so favorably complementing the interior, turns into a formidable weapon, if pulled up by a one-year-old with a tablecloth to the edge of the table ...
Typical standard parental methods - not to climb, not to take, not to touch, not to approach - for children's understanding are inaccessible, and sometimes induce to absolutely opposite acts. The child studies the world, he is a researcher: everything that surrounds him must be inspected, touched, tested and applied to something. It is impossible, it is useless and even harmful to constantly detain a child and prohibit everything.
Safe house.
When the child begins to walk, all the objects to which he can reach, must be removed or rearranged. It is necessary for a while to remove from sight valuable things, small objects, medicines, glass and ceramic utensils, sharp tools, household chemicals. Books on the shelves need to be pushed together so tightly that the baby can not pull them out. Electro-sockets must be closed with special plugs. For a baby, any household item is a discovery, a find that immediately becomes a toy. Such "toys" can be divided into three groups.
1. Actually children's toys. They should be accessible always, to correspond to age, to be serviceable and strong enough. The main requirement for them is security! Do not give children toys with sharp angles, easily disassembled into small parts. Choose those that can easily be washed: from rubber, wood, plastic. Arrange them on the lower shelves so that if you want to play, the child does not climb them to the height.
2. Household items that can be taken in the presence of parents: all small items, ceramics, pencils, children's scissors.
3. Objects that can not be taken in hand: thimbles, needles, knives, nail files, sharp knitting needles, awl. No less dangerous glass beaker, iron, matches, ployka. If you work with these items and your child is nearby, beware!
Hint to parents.
There is a very good Christian morality: "It is necessary to bring up the baby when it fits across the bench." Do not have time, left for tomorrow - the result will not keep you waiting. There is also an unwritten rule of the "short hand" - the child should always be near, under control: if you do not see him - you must hear, if you do not hear - you must see!
Experience shows that a neat and clean house is the basis of safety for a child. Unpleasant surprises, accidents and unhappiness occur more often when things do not "know their place". So, always remove the thing yourself immediately, as soon as you have used it. In order to come up with an activity for the baby, it is possible to move all the dangerous items in the shelves and cabinets upward, and leave all the safest, softest and most undecompact in the lower shelves. On the coffee table in the common room you can arrange old colored magazines, children's books with pictures.
Immediate parental intervention is required if the child commits an unacceptable: lifts a cigarette butt, thrown out by someone, a piece of glass. The mobility of the child should not cause anxiety or irritation. This is an important stimulus for its development. A sedentary, closed and quietly playing child should cause much more fear than a fidget.
Injury and age.
It is generally believed that up to three years, the prevention of injuries in children is limited only by strict control over their behavior, the removal of potentially dangerous items from the field of vision. The blame for this trauma at this age lies entirely with the parents and educators. At the same time, hyperoperation, excessive examination and lack of independence do not make the probability of injury lower. Since the age of three, the nature and situation of injuries have changed. The child already needs a certain independence, and strict constant monitoring is now unacceptable. Hence, the main task is the consolidation of the norms and behavior skills obtained. This is the guarantee of the predictability of the child's actions not only in the family environment, but also in the children's team.
The child went to school. Now most of the time he spends in the team, gaining independence personality. Up to 30% of injuries schoolchildren receive in schools, and 61% - in after-hours, at the changes, in the schoolyard during the games. Traumaticity of games of school age is explained by the fact that the game becomes collective, it is not the process itself that is important, but the result. Hence the excessive emotional behavior, risk, lower self-control. Quickly changing game situation and element of surprise (having time to run away, jump off, fight off) make the injury almost inevitable.
At the age of 14-15, life beats the key! Children react violently to everything that happens, are categorical, impulsive, very mobile. Well, if a teenager does sports, and if not - an outlet becomes a street ... For him it is freedom, independence, independence. Therefore, adolescent boys are injured 3 times more often - usually as a result of careless handling of sharp objects, exposure to various chemicals and open fire. Typical for these years, the propensity for frenzy and risk can be expressed in mischief and hooliganism. And the result is a fall from a sports projectile, from a tree, a blow to the bottom of the reservoir in shallow water.
At this age, there is a natural desire to assert itself, to show one's strength, excellence, to realize one's opportunities, which can manifest itself in the elements of aggressiveness, vandalism, violence and physical pain inflicted on peers. At the same time, the constant growth and development of the body, the increasing mental and mental load quickly exhaust the children, and the elementary lack of time for rest also affects. Hence, a decrease in mindfulness, negligence, clumsiness, which means falls, bruises, wounds, burns. A significant part of the inexplicable for adults actions are jumping from the second floor, walking on the railing on the bridge, standing at the roof edge of the high-rise building, etc. Is a way to assert itself, to determine the threshold of one's own security. Unfortunately, intuition sometimes deceives.
Family in many ways creates that special, individual stereotype of behavior that contains the experience and habits of past generations. And if in some dangerous situation the consciousness "does not work", then immediately instinctively joins that stereotype of behavior (aggression, retreat, detour, attack, passivity), which is formed by upbringing in the family. From how the child is brought up, what vital values he possesses, not only his spiritual health depends, but also the physical condition, and the subsequent life as a whole.