Study: Strollers injure thousands of children each year
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- It only takes a second for a child to fall out of a stroller or carrier.
Research released Wednesday shows a surprising number of emergency department visits and traumatic brain injuries among children and babies less than a year old.
The report estimates more than 17,000 children end up in the emergency room every year with injuries tied to a stroller or carrier. That's about two injuries every hour.
The majority of those injuries were with children less than a year old.
"That does surprise me a lot, because I do run with him," said one Raleigh mom.
Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital examined over 20 years of data from more than 100 hospitals. They looked specifically for reports of children under five treated in emergency departments for injuries related to their carriers, or when their strollers of carriers tipped over.
"I always make sure that I have him very well closed here. Luckily he doesn't know how to open that, but it will scare me if he ever tries to," said the Raleigh mother.
The message for parents is simple: make sure your child is properly buckled and strapped in securely every time.
Always follow the manufacturers guidelines and check for recalls. You can check Recalls.gov here to make sure the product you're using isn't on a list.
Also, resist the urge to overload your stroller with other stuff, and don't let a little sibling push.
"A friend's little boy was pushing her less than one-year-old, probably 8-months-old son, and they hit the curb trying to go up, and he pushed really hard and the boy just fell straight out," another Raleigh mom recalled. "We all saw it, and it was pretty bad!"
