As a parent, you probably worry a lot about the safety of your children. With school shootings becoming more common, you may even fret about them going to school. Being a parent involves a lot of hard work and stress just to make sure your child does not end up hurt or killed due to an accident. However, even the best parent in Connecticut cannot protect his or her child from every danger.
The best that you can do is to be aware of the risks and know what poses the greatest harm to your child. The reality of what exactly is the biggest danger to your child may surprise you. NPR suggests that many parents think guns and cancer are the scariest things that could lead to their child being injured or killed, but neither of those are the number one cause of death in children and teens.
On the road
The number one cause of death for children and teens is motor vehicle accidents. When you hear that, it probably scares you because your child likely rides in a vehicle multiple times every day. Even more horrifying is that our country is doing a poor job of ensuring the safety of kids compared to other countries.
Looking at the numbers
As of 2016, the average number of death for children and teens was 5.21 deaths out of every 100,000 deaths. To compare, in England, that number is only 1.04, and that includes Wales. Only one other country is averaging more than us. Thailand has an estimated 10.22 children or teens killed per every 100,000 accidents.
There is some good news. The rate of deaths for children and teens in auto accidents has gone down over the past couple of decades. In 1999, the number used to be 10 deaths per 100,000. However, as a parent, that is not likely a big comfort.
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed