Kids & Stairs Safety

When it comes to kids and stairs, there's good new and bad news.

The good news is that fewer kids are getting hurt on stairs, but the bad news is plenty still end up in the emergency room because of it.

A new study, just published in the journal Pediatrics, found that over the last 10 years the number of kids hurt on stairs dropped. Researchers think part of the reason is because of parents realizing the dangers of baby walkers.

But they also found that we still have a ways to go. That's because currently, a child ends up in the ER every 6 minutes after falling down stairs.
Recommendations for slowing this rate down include modifying stairs with children in mind. That means making handrails more narrow so their small hands can grip them if they start to fall. And installing built in gates at both the top and bottom of any stair set.

The researchers involved in this study remind us that even though we might not have a child in the house, most houses have a child visit from one time or another. And the stairs might become a hazard for them at any time resulting in a trip to the hospital.