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CPSC Offers Tips for Back to School Safety

Agency urges parents to teach helmet safety, playground smarts, and avoid unsafe clothes

August 21, 2008
With more than 50 million U.S. school kids headed back to the classroom this fall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging parents to pay special attention to safety this school year.

The agency says children should always wear a helmet while they ride their bikes, while parents should watch out for dangerous drawstrings in children's jackets, and check the safety of school soccer goals.

Helmet Safety

Wear a bicycle helmet when biking or riding a scooter to and from school, the agency advises. Make sure your child's bicycle helmet has a label stating it meets CPSC's mandatory safety standard. Wearing a bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.

CPSC staff has reports of an annual average of 80 children under 16 years of age who died in bicycle-related incidents in recent years. About half of the 500,000 bicycle-related emergency room-treated injuries in 2007 involved children under the age of 16.

When taking part in other recreational activities, wear the right helmet for that activity. Read CPSC's "Which Helmet for Which Activity" publication, which helps parents choose the most appropriate helmet.

More than 80 percent of the nearly 50,000 emergency room-treated injuries involving unpowered scooters in 2007 were to children younger than 15. In addition to wearing a helmet, CPSC recommends elbow and kneepads when riding a scooter.

Avoid Children's Clothing with Drawstrings

Drawstrings at the hood or neck area are a strangulation hazard. They can catch on playground equipment and other items. Remove hood and neck drawstrings from upper outerwear clothing already in your child's closet, and do not buy children's clothing that uses them.

Since 1985, CPSC has received reports of 27 deaths and 70 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children's clothing drawstrings.

Movable Soccer Goals

Unsecured movable soccer goals can fall over and kill or injure children who climb on them or hang from the crossbar. Make sure soccer goals are securely anchored when in use. Never allow children to climb on the soccer net or goal framework. When not in use, anchor goals or chain them to a nearby fence post or sturdy framework. Since 1998, CPSC has reports of at least 7 deaths and an estimated 1800 emergency department visits by children younger than 16 years of age that are related to soccer goal tip-overs and structural failures.

For more information on soccer goal safety, visit the CPSC Web site.

Playgrounds

Each year, more than 200,000 hospital emergency room visits are related to playground injuries. Most injuries occur when a child falls onto the playground surface.

Check with school officials to make sure that equipment has been inspected and maintained. There should be at least nine inches of safe, shock absorbing surface material, and proper clearance around the equipment. Make sure exposed hardware or free-hanging ropes are not part of the equipment. Ropes and clothing catching on exposed hardware can be strangulation hazards. Elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, should have guardrails to prevent falls.

School officials should be aware that shading at the playground with trees or other structures is an important consideration to reduce children's exposure to the sun. Schools should also be aware that hot sun can make playground slides and black rubber matting burn hazards for children.

ATVs

Do not allow children to ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to school due to the danger of riding on paved surfaces and never allow children to ride adult ATVs. For more information on ATV safety, visit www.atvsafety.gov.

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