Heads Up: Reduce the Risk
 of Childhood Head Trauma

by Gina Roberts-Grey

Your child is likely to incur many scrapes, bumps and bruises throughout the course of his or her early years. On the road to adulthood, children trip on the playground, fall up or down stairs, run into walls, doors and each other, and are injured playing sports. Although parents aim to avoid a frantic ride to the hospital, few children escape adolescence without at least one trip to the emergency room or trauma treatment center.

Preventing childhood head injuries is not always high on a child’s list of priorities. Neon-colored casts and stitches often are shown off as badges of courage by children who’ve fractured their wrists perfecting their jump shot and split their chins scoring the winning goal. Although few children suffer lifelong effects from a sprained ankle, broken wrist or scraped knee, in 2002 and 2003, nearly 31,000 children were admitted to hospitals in the United States for head injuries.

No matter how hard his head seems to be when you’re trying to get through to your child to clean his room or do his homework, your child’s head requires protection. However blasé your child’s attitude may be toward wearing a helmet when skateboarding or riding a bicycle, staying in the car seat or looking ahead when running in the yard, your heads-up approach to protecting his noggin can be the driving force that prevents a serious injury.

Slightly more than 7 percent of all combined head-related injuries that occurred in 2002 and 2003 in patients under 18 resulted from bicycle accidents. During that time, an additional 6 percent of head injuries were credited to roller blading and skateboarding. Strapping on a helmet before rolling off on a bicycle, skateboard or roller blades can reduce your child’s risk of incurring a head injury by 85 percent and the risk of brain damage resulting from a head injury by more than 90 percent.

Young children as passengers strapped in bike strollers or baby bike seats do not have the coordination to put their hands out in front of them to absorb the impact of a fall. "It is equally important for young children riding on the back of an adult’s bicycle to wear a helmet," cautions Desiree Thibido, RN.

In addition to the above-mentioned risks, parents should be aware of a variety of hazards that could lead to head injuries in their children.

As children grow, they often begin to express displeasure with the need to sit in a safety seat while riding in a car. Despite the strongest of arguments why all his friend’s parents permit them to cruise free of safety restraints, adhering to the recommendations of your pediatrician, insurance carrier or local legislation concerning young passengers can reduce the chances of head injury resulting from an auto accident by more than 80 percent.

Young children often are at the right height to bump their head into barbeques and grills in the backyard. "Pre-schoolers and toddlers are at an especially high risk for receiving burns to their heads or injuring their eyes when running into or playing near a barbeque or grill," says Jimmy Parks, MS, RN, a member of the American Burn Association’s Prevention Committee and outreach coordinator for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Burn Center in Little Rock. Parks, a seasoned burn care expert with more than 15 years in the burn center, has treated numerous young patients who were playing tag or hide and seek too close to a grill, were burned by the hot surface of the grill, poked in the eye by utensils hanging from the grill or received head or facial lacerations as a result of trying to duck under the grill.

Keeping the rails locked in the upright position whenever a baby is in a crib provides tremendous safety and security for your baby. Unfortunately, as a child outgrows his crib, he grows into additional risks to injure his head and face. Children fall asleep on sofas, in hammocks and in chairs. "Many of these children fall when stirring from their sleep. Because of their state of grogginess, their reflexes are not as quick as when they’re fully awake and they often hit their head or face," Thibido says.

Although disturbing a sleeping child often is deemed a strict taboo, moving your child to a safer location to finish a nap can prevent an abrupt and painful awakening. One idea is to move the child onto the floor to finish a nap when he falls asleep on the sofa. If your child is too big to move easily while asleep, try to prop him against a safe, soft surface and remove all potentially dangerous or sharp objects from the area where he is sleeping.

A quick pre-game inspection of your child’s sports equipment offers an added element of injury prevention. Verifying the integrity of all fasteners, straps and padding will ensure that the gear designed to offer protection is capable of meeting the challenges associated with the sport.

The simple step of making sure a child’s shoelaces are properly secured can reduce the risk that he will fall on the playground or in the backyard and injure his head. "Making sure that children do not run with their hands in their pockets and pay attention to where they’re walking or running can avoid head and numerous other injuries," points out elementary school nurse Heather Honsinger.

Occasionally refreshing your child’s memory of basic playground and backyard safety tips increases the chance that he’ll be able to prevent a potential accident and protect himself against potential hazards. Remember to include information such as not sticking or poking anything into his eyes, nose or ears when you’re brushing up on these safety guidelines.

Seek immediate medical attention if any of these symptoms occur after a head injury or fall: