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April 16th, 2012
02:10 PM ET
Accidental death rate for children fallsEvery hour, one child dies from an unintentional injury in the United States. It’s the leading cause of death for children and adolescents aged 1 to 19, and the fifth leading cause of death for newborns and infants less than a year old. However, the death rate from unintentional injuries among children and adolescents from birth to age 19 plunged almost 30% from 2000-2009, according to a Vitals Signs report released Monday by the CDC. The report also found that the rate of child injury deaths in the United States remains among the worst of all high-income countries. It is more than twice the rate of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada. “As horrible as these numbers are, the facts are even more troubling and difficult to accept when you consider that most of these events are predictable and preventable,” said Ileana Arias, principal deputy director of the CDC.
Leading cause: Car crashes While deaths from car crashes are down more than 40% during the last decade, they remain the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children. Drivers and passengers alike should always utilize their seat belts and parents should install the appropriate safety seats and booster seats for their child’s age and weight. The CDC's National Action Plan also suggests using a safe-driving agreement or contract with teens. On the rise: Poisoning deaths, suffocation Poisoning deaths, it should be noted, are steadily on the rise among teenagers, largely due to prescription drug overdoses. The CDC recommends keeping medicines away from children and teens, as well as storing cleaning solutions and other toxic products in their original packaging and out of children’s reach. Related: Keep kids away from the medicine cabinet Deaths by suffocation are also on the rise, up by nearly a third during the past decade. The CDC urges parents to be sure cribs meet proper safety standards. Infants should sleep alone, on their backs, and on a firm surface. Also avoid loose bedding or soft toys in cribs. According to the report, child injury death rates varied substantially from state to state, ranging from fewer than 5 deaths per 100,000 children in Massachusetts and New Jersey to more than 23 deaths per 100,000 children in South Dakota and Mississippi. “This variation is important, because it demonstrates what is possible to accomplish,” said Arias. “For example, in 2009, more than 5,700 children’s lives would have been saved if the lowest state’s death rate had been achieved nationally.” “We need empowered parents and caregivers who have the knowledge and skill to make the right choices for safety every time,” said Dr. Julie Gilchrist, Medical Epidemiologist, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention. “Some things to keep kids safe are not a one-time fix. They must be safe choices made every time.”
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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Well, of course the death rates have fallen. We recall *everything* that even looks dangerous (the mini-blind cords still ruffle my feathers!) and encase children in safety bubbles. There are no kids simply running around outside anymore; none of them are hiking in the woods or constructing ramps for their bikes. Sure, the death rate has declined, but, in my opinion, so has a child's quality of life.
And yet we still have the highest rate in the industrial world.
Steve – We also have the worst parents and the dumbest population of the industrialized world.
I have a friend whose little girl almost died because she got caught in the cords on their mini blinds. Luckily my friend heard her crying out, and was able to untangle her neck before it was too late, but it could've been a lot worse.
There was no reason to issue such a massive recall of blinds simply because of cords. All of my blinds came emblazoned with neon orange stickers attached to the top warning of possible hazards; the directions had several areas dedicated to warning people about the strings; there is no reason for a child to become entangled unless the parents simply did not care enough to snip and shorten the cords and then loop them up through the top so that they could not be reached. I feel sorry for the kids who died from the cords, but the parents are ultimately at fault for not following the directions and safety warnings.
I just can't figure out why people want to come here and live here. Crappy healthcare, no chance to become rich, horrible school systems and now one of the worst child death rates. Makes no sense to me. I must be missing something. I'd split if I could afford a plane ticket.
steve-I agree-how awesome it would be to live in a pladcw where we are not double and tripled taxed and life is much simpler. American life is too stressful.
Steve–
That is parenting skills or lack there of.
Well Steve, you must have never left this country to know how awesome it is regardless of the strings on our blinds or the amount of taxes we pay. Yeah our death rates are higher, but we have more cars on the road, we can afford finer things like perscription drugs and cleaners that are dangerous to children. It's simple the more variables you add the more ways kids can hurt themselves or die.
@Dave
I agree completely. Our society favors work over family, is horrible at using contraception, creates incentives to have children while not providing health care and having poor education with entirely too much poverty and unemployment.
These numbers are not surprising.
Unfortunately, we can't let our kids do things like "hike in the woods" because of pedophiles who spend their time watching to see which kids they can catch alone. It's the victimization and murders of children that have caused parents to feel the need to keep them closer. With the pathetic way our justice system lets sicko perverts continually off the hook until they finally rape and mutilate some poor innocent child, we aren't left with many choices. My life would be a LOT simpler if I didn't have to construct my life in a way that helps my children stay out of reach of the freaks who fantasize about children. Regardless, my children (and I'm sure many, many others) do all the things you listed in your post...they just happen to do most of it on our personal property.
Steve,
Go see what it's like to live for a year in Nepal. No public education; no libraries; no police; no fire department; no road maintenance (and no way to travel on the roads, unless you are very wealthy and can afford a cab); if there's electricity, you never know for how long it will stay on each day (so no refrigeration); little indoor plumbing (forget your hot shower); no medical care; hunger and starvation; high illiteracy rate; high child and maternal death rates.
When I returned from Nepal (where, I must add, the people are as gracious and generous as you can imagine), I realized that WE LIVE LIKE KINGS IN THE U.S. - AND DON'T EVEN KNOW IT.
Poor parenting is the cause of 95% of child injury.
Two days ago, I saw a minority parent playing chase with their child around a parked car and they were running into the street with each lap. Just fukkkkin brilliant.
YEap but kids are getting fatter. And the USA thanks to FB and all those playing videos the USA does have one of the worse education in the whole world. Most Latin American nations do smarter kids and much healthier as well. All those white children in Argentina and many nations in Latin America will live much longer than our children.
(the mini-blind cords still ruffle my feathers!)
Sure Dom, but I have experience with that one. We almost lost my oldest daughter to that one when she was just a toddler roaming about. No we aren't bad parents, and it is amazing how fast they can get into trouble like that. So just relax those feathers.
dom625: How callous. Child death rates have fallen and all you can do is complain? There are still plenty of children in my neighborhood running around and having fun. But thanks to the rules you complain about (dangerous miniblind cords- you are really that nostalgic for them??) many more children will live to see adulthood. And thanks to the efforts of dedicated people, such as one of my friends whose son was killed in a crib entrapment accident, new safety laws keep children alive. The quality of children's lives are not negatively affected by having to sit in car seats, sleep in fixed-side cribs, or not having mini-blinds in their homes.
I think what dom625 is getting at is that, with all the "safety requirements" that this country has in place, the mortality rate of children in the U.S. is so much worse than other European countries that don't have so many restrictions. So, why does the U.S. have so many deaths, when we have so many rules – is it inattention by the parents; stupidity by both parents and children; what?? Millions of children survived during the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, without those rules in place. All these safety rules went into effect during the 80's and 90's. How did your parents survive no child car seats, playing outside, riding bikes without helmets, knee pads, etc.? I think that parents, now, don't bother to pay attention to their children, and so, have no idea what they are getting into or doing.
NMEast -
There were a FRACTION of the cars on the road, back in the '50's and 60's. Average family size was 4 children - and yes, they died, but it wasn't the same as having only one child (40% of Americans today), or two children (40% of Americans today). Kids COULD run free, because we ran in big neighborhood "packs" - no one would dare touch us. Most mothers were home full time (and usually without the car, which Dad took to work), so you could go into anyone's house if you needed help. My only child could not go anywhere alone till she was 15 and had enough sense to be cautious - because I live in terror of her being abducted. We have no neighbors with children, and live in a city. I am deeply grateful for car seats, and safe blind-cords. It is such a different world from the world I knew as a child...
What a worthless article, they don't even say how they are measuring death rate. I could argue that a high % of child deaths from accidents is good, because it implies you have a lower number of children passing from non-accidental deaths.
Not to mention, when the leading cause if car crashes, and when our nation drives more than any other "high-income" country, this will be unavoidable. We probably also have the highest serious injury rate from American football. Should we be surprised or concerned? Nobody else even plays it!
The US still lucks behind..
You could argue, but you would not be making a good argument.
MAS, they were categorized based on cause of death on the death certificates. Divide the number of deaths in each "category" by total number of deaths, and you get the correct measurements. And yes you make an accurate point: if you adjust for motor vehicle crashes, the US rates drop dramatically. No other country puts teens on the road as much as the US and motor vehicle deaths surely are inflated as compared to other countries due to this reason.
Don't forget to mention that the US's life expectancy is a shameful #38 in the world. Lower than Cuba, Costa Rica, all of Europe, and more.
well the US sucks now so don't be surprised
Have you seen how we eat?
Oh God, please not the children!!! If the children die, we won't have a new crop of ignorant a_holes to pollute, make wars and destroy the planet. Hmm. Nevermind.
You got it! Totally accurate!
dude really we children look at these websites but its all good and fyi u are definitely goin to have a effed ^ life u retarded
Reminds me of when I was injured as a child. My father took me to the emergency room of the hospital. The nurses argued with my father about his health insurance coverage while my blood was running all over the floor. Health care in this country is a business model dominated by Wall Street. That is the problem.
@ Brian – Okay, you know, reading all these comments about how safety has either harmed or protected our children, yours is BY FAR the most important comment here ... so far. I had a similar experience as a kid, although thanks to living in Canada, no argument over my health insurance was needed, and I got the medical help I needed. Common sense has left American hospitals .... I'm so glad you're okay now, but that is sad. Maybe the government needs to read your story, and give their heads a feel -.-
I hate to say it, but until this country has universal health care, the first question anyone asks when you show up in the emergency room will continue to be about your health insurance, not your health problem. But frankly, I'm tired of arguing that point, and Americans are evidently happy the way things are. For whatever reason Americans are prepared to accept and pay the price of maintaining the current system, just as they are apparently willing to continue paying the price for this country's gun culture. I'm getting old, so with each passing day it becomes a little less my problem. If you don't think the current system is acceptable, well, go ahead and see if you can change it. You won't change it in my lifetime.
@ NJBob – ... well, I'm sure I could at least try if I were living in the US, although I'd need a lot of people backing me for that. Besides, even if it doesn't change in YOUR life time, you should at least help a little, because it may not be your problem now, but it's the problem of your children, and your grand children, and your younger generation family's problem. You not helping will affect you in ways you probably haven't pondered yet.
But, I'm not gonna debate anything. I'm just glad I got a chance to read Brian's comment 🙂
At Sarah:
I lived in Canada for over 30 years, now I live in Pittsburgh and I can see the big difference, I am looking forward to be back home.. however I understand Americans, insurance companies expend billions and billions intimidating the American Public, they have tried the same in Cnada but to no avail. I guess we are lucky we have not taken the bait..
If you had told that story of almost bleeding to death at that CNN-Tea Party Republican debate several months back the audience would have cheered
I am sorry that happened to you. In America, by law, no ER can turn you away or refuse treatment based on lack of insurance. The patient must be stabalized first and moved to another hospital if they lack insurance.Your story probably occured before the law was passed.
Sarah, the government DOES care - well, the DEMOCRATIC ones in government.
Geo - I remember being horrified, when the Tea Partiers CHEERED at one of the first Republican debates, yelling "Let him die!!", when one of the candidates talked about a person without health care. I remember feeling, "This must have been what it was like, when Pontius Pilate offered to let Jesus go, but the crowds yelled, 'NO! CRUCIFY HIMI!'" (And the Tea Partiers claim to be "Christian". What a lie.)
The death of any child is a shame and thanks to all those engineers (that are mostly none American ) we are all a little bit safer . Today it seems the rest of the world is moving forward and we here in America need all the help we can get , to not fall backwards !
Is a Darwinian principle being applied? Survival of the "fittest.?
Don't think so, because then you wouldn't be here.
U-S-A!! U-S-A!! U-S-A!! U-S-A!! U-S-A!!
And?
My son fell running down a steep hill and tripped and the bone was nearly through the skin at his ankle. I couldn't find the insurance card. His foot was wrapped up and he was sent home with ZERO follow-up. Luckily I finally found the insurance card Then they lined up to fix his ankle!
BEYOND disgraceful.
Karon, sounds like you do not live in the usa, as a member of the health care and furthering my career to that of an MD I can say, that here in the usa, a Patient wouldn't be sent home without any type of follow up visit. I find it Hard to believe that any where else in the world, would simply discharge a patient without any prior instructions for reassessment check up
Wait until the Republicans start eliminating those pesky child labor laws-just to build character of course.
Well, remember Newt: hire the little black kids to become the janitors in their schools?
Notice how the lowest rates are in fairly well educated states and the highest in poorly educated states.
Like Massachusetts, and Alabama?
Massachusetts usually votes Democrat, and Alabama Republican (Alabama is on the Bible belt)
That explain things, right?
Dr Ruth, Alabama was one of the high states. Blue states are DEFINITELY lower than red states.
Makes sense, dr. ruth.
Ya gets who ya votes for.
I love the United States of America. If some things were done slightly differently, this nation would be a utopia.
Issues like this – high crime, a horrible healthcare system, the hijacking of American culture by the urban criminal trash, religiously driven idiocy – make me want to leave America...and go back in time.
As I said, Americans like it and are apparently willing to pay the price. You'll never pry that stuff from their tight little fists.
America is known as "One of the best Health care systems" sure ER visits and family practice prices are high for most people. But we are one of the best health care with advanced patient assessments,medications compared to most of the world. travel outside of the usa and i'm not talking canada or mexico. I travel to Asia and some european countries where there health care systems are far less then that of america, we are one of the most well completed medical centers, in every city or near by cities we have level 4 trauma centers, where to some countries have only 1 "level 4" and for anyone who doesn't understand Level 4 trauma centers Ranks as Best, Level 3's Rank Good Level 2's some improvement needed level 1's Greatly Need Improvement
god forbid anybody should ever have an accident.
I would suspect Arizona leads in states in child deaths and injuries. Killings of kids about 80 the previous year. But our law makers don't make kids a priority unless they are not born yet. Then they are concerned. Weird, get born and they don't care.
For kids age 5-9, under 4' 9" and 80-100 lbs, a booster seat is recommended. But, my son's buddies and even some of his parents seem amused that he still has a booster. I wish the advocates would campaign this issue more.
I also have an issue with 4-wheeler and dirtbike racing by young kids. My nephews have had concussions, broken bones, and been hospitalized with internal injuries due to this "sport". It should be outlawed!
How can we not expect to have injuries when our parents do stuff like let the kids climb all over the carts in the grocery store like they were jungle Gym equipment. Makes my hair turn grey to constantly witness this. Plus there is nothing the stores can do because the most negligent parents are the ones most likely to sue the store's pants off when their little precious gets hurt.
I expected this to be about children, not about outside factors. Car accidents and poison via drugs should not be categorized as "accidents" when compared to other places. Americans drive more, and you would have to expect more auto accidents. For drug use, Americans have more drugs in the house than anywhere else. Nowhere else turns to pills to solve problems like the U.S.
So, more driving, more drugs around... and more problems from those situations. No brainer.
I hardly find the study surprising. Our dependecy on personal transportation is also staggering compartively to other countries. That said, injuries from car accidents, one needs to consider injuries when a child is hit by a personal vehical. When SUV's came into fashion in the 80's I can't tell you how many kids I treated or were pronounced dead from people running over their own children. The USA also has a lot more laxed cell phone use laws comparitvely to the other countries mentioned. This also has contributed to an escalated number of accidents.
as numbers of accidents occur EMS still have more down time, then Response Time. here are facts: 80% of Ems Calls are Transport Calls, 10% Medical Calls and 10% "Accident" I was a Paramedic, and FYI Its no longer called "accidents" its Called Motor vehicle collision (mvc), Motor Vehicle Incident (mci) But i agree with you, I traveled to Asia several times, and there traffic speeds are basically anyone's guess, cars are bumper to bumper, public transportation's stop sudden without warning, motorcycles pass on both the right and left sides and often have over reached the capacities of public transportation's buses of riders and yet we still have a High level of Collisions out there on the road
And to add insult to injury, there is a basic cure for Prostate cancer now, and it comes from the evil socialist universal healthcare system in the UK, not the "best healthcare in the world" US. Like most cures, it comes from the "socilalists".
LMAO LOL LOL LOL LOL
"The majority, 95 per cent, were free of cancer after 12 months."
I bet it will be 20 years before it comes to the US because it will really hurt the greedy corporations and investors.
The reason for so many accidents is parents have stopped paying attention. They are plugged into something at all hours of the day,and barely notice what little Susie of Timmy are doing. Unpkug,pay attention,stop thinking it is someone else's job to do.
Well I think we should just bubble wrap all our kids. Hell, why stop there. Let's bubble wrap EVERYTHING. We should add airbags to the walls and floor and kids should not have any fun EVAR!! Why? Because fun is dangerous.
Lot's of comments in this thread about parents not paying attention. Totally diagree. This is anecdotal but I grew up in the late 70's and early 80's and parents paid much less attention back then. I was 7 walking miles, going hiking, playing in water runoffs, making ramps and jumping bikes and skateboards. No helmets, no helicopter parent running around us making sure we were safe. None of my friends died. Yes maybe some dirt in the face, scratches and a broken bone or two. There is for sure a difference these days. I see parents at the playground constantly hovering around thir kids micro-managing their play time. Telling them not to step here, do not put your hands there, don't touch the dirt and on and on. I am beginning to wonder how these kids will make it in the world. I used to take the city bus at 9 years old. The only thing my parents told me was to make sure I was with a friend. If that happened now my parents would be considered bad parents. They were great and they knew how to raise a smart child. I think parents these days are socially hurting their childeren by hovering over everything thay do and not teaching them responsibility at a young age. Easier to just be there and tell their kids what to do all day long everywhere they go. Sad really..
I'm disappointed the article didn't quantify the completely stupid things parents let their children do. Sure, it is impossible to guard against all danger while still letting you kids have a childhood. But, I have seen some of the dumbest things. Kids pulled on sleds behind cars and trucks, kids climbing over railings at tourist attractions, kids climbing on shelves in stores, kids playing with fireworks (not the sparkler kind), babies trusted to know not to grab the pit bull's nose.
Or maybe, the economic pressures of the overpriced medical system discourages parents from taking their kids to the hospitals in a timely manner.......next month rent or take the chance the injury will work itself out.......
Maybe the decline has to do with the proliferation of urgent care clinics in that time period. Much less costly and they get people in and out without having to lose an entire day of work or night of sleep.
Unintentional death a leading cause of death in 1-19. Well, that is good news indeed. Just think if 'intentional death' was the leading cause of death! Like, I guess unborn children. I will never understand what is so awful about the death of a child born as opposed to the death of a child waiting to be born. Lastly, I refer a world where people die unintentionally to one where death is intentional or we have erected such a world that death is not an accident. I could imagine how free we would be to ...well....live – if that word still meant anything.
I think it would be harder for me to accept the death of my 4 year old than the termination of a 6 week old fetus.
Americans are idiots.
I always find it a bit amusing that we can say that the United States has problems with child deaths, and yet, you see so many child safety/hazard warnings on many different products whether it is on kitty litter containers, back labels on cleaning fluids, and in vehicles. Is it enough? Maybe. Even if we as people try to research ways to improve methods of child supervision and safety, our efforts can only take us so far. Indeed we can minimize the chances of unintentional child deaths, but only to the extent where it would seldom occur. Like crime, prejudice, and bullying, death is also something that will never go away. We can escape from death, cheat death, and suppress death, however, nothing is nevermore preventable than death...I hate to say...nothing lasts forever. We can all make the most of our lives and hope to build a peaceful future the best we can until the very end. That's life...
Shouldn't be able to get away with killing your kid. They are murdered in every way possible in the United States. Accidents my azz.
15 YO kid in Indiana got burned when a paint can blew up in a bonfire. All the yokels say kids being kids and let it go.
Disgusting. 2nd and 3rd degree over 45% He may not make it.
Those other 3 countries mentioned – Canada, UK and France – have public Health care – higher live expectancy and lower infant mortality rates.... hmmm... seems to be a pattern....
I'm not sure what you are suggesting .. they ASSUME you are metenig all your payments unless someone reports that you missed one .. i.e. the Loan companies (and Banks) only report when you miss a payment
What about the thousands of children (and adults) dying in Africa due to lack of food? Is that accidental?
Death is always a painful topic
Is it a coincidence that Missippi, a state that has some of the strictest abortion laws and goes out of it's way to make it as hard as possible to get an abortion also has the highest child death rate in the nation. Ever wonder why those "accidental suffocations" are on the rise? You can learn alot watching bad television cop shows like how hard it is to prove that your kid didn't fall asleep wrong and died through no fault of anybody at all. I suppose it takes out all the guess work if it's a human being or not in the debate on when they're murdered.
"The report also found that the rate of child injury deaths in the United States remains among the worst of all high-income countries. It is more than twice the rate of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.
AND what is the reason for this? Why are we twice the rate of other developed countries?
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