Falls from Windows
NSW Health Radio Campaign 2009
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Significant numbers of young children are becoming seriously injured due to falls from residential building windows. Children between the ages of 2 and 5 years are at particular risk of falling. However, a number of children as young as one year and children in older age groups have also been injured due to a fall from a window. Children are at risk of severe and life threatening injuries in the event of such a fall including skull fractures and brain injuries, neck injuries and limb fractures. Children are experiencing falls from a variety of different types of dwellings ranging from apartment buildings, townhouses or duplex type accommodation and free standing homes. Many parents and children mistakenly believe that a fly screen offers a physical barrier preventing a child from falling. This is not the case as demonstrated by many examples of children being admitted to children’s hospitals for emergency treatment following a fall from a window through a fly screen. With the vast majority of injuries occurring during the warmer months of the year, an increase in parental awareness of the potential for children to fall from windows including those fitted with fly screens will assist in preventing many of these injuries. Children love to engage in exploratory play and will often fail to identify potential hazards. Many children who fall from windows had been playing on furniture placed by or beneath the window opening. Wherever possible furniture should not be placed beneath windows allowing a platform upon which young children could potentially climb or launch. Parents should also take the opportunity to speak to their children about the potential danger of falling from heights, even from a very early age. Most importantly, consideration needs to be given to the installation of physical barriers such as window locks to prevent children from falling. Fly screens are designed to keep flies out, not children in. |