Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death and disability among children ages 14 and under in the United States. One out of every four children, or more than 14 million children ages 14 and under, sustains injuries that are serious enough to require medical attention each year.

In general, children are primarily at risk of unintentional injury-related death from: motor vehicle injuries which include children as occupants, pedestrians and bicyclists; drowning; fire and burns; suffocation; poisoning; choking; unintentional firearm injuries; and falls. Younger children, males, minorities and poor children suffer disproportionately.

Through virtually all ages, for all causes of injury, males are at greater risk of unintentional death and injury than females. This is primarily due to greater exposure to activities that result in injury, and patterns of risk taking and rougher play.

Children living in rural areas are at greater risk from unintentional injury-related death than children living in urban areas.

Burn Injury
Burns have long been recognized as among the most painful and devastating injuries a person can sustain and survive. Scald burn injury (caused by hot liquids or steam) is the most common type of burn-related injury among young children while flame burns (caused by direct contact with fire) are more prevalent among older children.

A child exposed to hot tap water at 140 degrees F for three seconds will sustain a third degree burn, an injury requiring hospitalization and skin grafts.

The majority of scald burns to children, especially among those ages 6 months to 2 years, are from hot foods and liquids spilled in the kitchen or other places where food is prepared and served.

Each year, in the United States, approximately 800 children die due to fire and burn-related injury.

For more information on this topic, visit the in-depth fact sheet on the Safe Kids web site at http://www.safekids.org/fact99/burns99.html

Residential Fire Injury
Fires and burns are the third-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under. Children, especially those ages 5 and under, are at the greatest risk from home fire-related death and injury. Smoke alarms are extremely effective at preventing fire-related death and injury. The chances of dying in a residential fire are cut in half when a smoke alarm is present.

Each year, in the United States, approximately 800 children die due to fire and burn-related injury.

A working smoke alarm is not present in two-thirds of the residential fires in which a child is injured or killed. Households without working smoke alarms are approximately two and a half times more likely to have a fire than those with working smoke alarms.

For more information on this topic, visit the in-depth fact sheet on the Safe Kids web site at http://www.safekids.org/fact99/fire99.html

Motor Vehicle Occupant Injury
Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under. Child safety seats and safety belts, when correctly installed and used, can prevent injury and save lives. Unrestrained children are more likely to be injured, to suffer more severe injuries, and to die in motor vehicle crashes than children who are restrained.

Seventy-five percent of motor vehicle crashes occur within 25 miles of home. In addition, 60 percent of crashes occur on roads with posted speed limits of 40 mph or less. The severity of a motor vehicle crash and the resulting injury intensify with increasing vehicle speed at the time of impact. Speed is a factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes.

Riding unrestrained is the greatest risk factor for death and injury among child occupants of motor vehicles. Approximately 40 percent of children ages 4 and under ride unrestrained, placing them at twice the risk of death and injury as those riding restrained.

For more information on this topic, visit the in-depth fact sheet on the Safe Kids web site at http://www.safekids.org/fact99/mv99.html

Pedestrian Injury
Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. While the majority of pedestrian deaths and injuries are traffic-related, children ages 0 to 2 are more likely to suffer non-traffic-related pedestrian injuries, including those occurring in driveways, parking lots or on sidewalks. Although pedestrian injuries are not as common as motor vehicle occupant injuries, a disproportionate number of the injuries sustained by child pedestrians are severe. Between 25 and 50 percent of child pedestrian injuries require hospital admission.

Children ages 5 to 9 are at the greatest risk from traffic-related pedestrian death and injury. Nearly one-third of all children ages 5 to 9 who are killed in traffic crashes are pedestrians.

For more information on this topic, visit the in-depth fact sheet on the Safe Kids web site at http://www.safekids.org/fact99/ped99.html

Airway Obstruction Injury
Airway obstruction injury (suffocation, choking, strangulation) is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children under age 1. These injuries occur when children are unable to breathe normally because food or objects block their internal airways (choking); materials block or cover their external airways (suffocation); or items become wrapped around their necks and interfere with breathing (strangulation). Children, especially those under age 3, are particularly vulnerable to airway obstruction death and injury due to the small size of their upper airways, their relative inexperience with chewing, and their natural tendency to put objects in their mouths. Additionally, infantsŐ inability to lift their heads or extricate themselves from tight places puts them at greater risk.

Infants can suffocate when their faces become wedged against or buried in a mattress, pillow, infant cushion or other soft bedding; someone in the same bed rolls over on them; or their mouths and noses are covered by or pressed against a plastic bag.

Children are at risk from choking on small, round foods such as hot dogs, candies, nuts, grapes, carrots and popcorn. Nonfood items tend to be round or conforming objects, including coins, small balls and balloons.

Balloons are the most common cause of toy-related choking death among children. Unlike other causes of choking death, balloon-related deaths are as common among children ages 3 and older as among younger children.

Approximately 5,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in hospital emergency rooms for aspirating and ingesting toys and toy parts each year. More than 75 percent of these children are ages 4 and under.

For more information on this topic, visit the in-depth fact sheet on the Safe Kids web site at http://www.safekids.org/fact99/ao99.html