Toy Safety - Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates
The following statistics are the latest available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
Injury and death rates:
- At least 17 children ages 11 and under died in 2000 from toy-related injuries. The majority were children ages 4 and under.
- Approximately 150,800 children, ages 14 and under, were treated at hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in 2000. Nearly half of the children treated for these injuries were ages 4 and under.
- Most toy-related injuries do not require hospitalization (98 percent).
Causes:
- Choking is the leading cause of toy-related death, most often due to small balls.
- Thirty-five percent of toy-related deaths in 2000 were due to choking. About one-third of those deaths were attributed to latex balloons.
- Other causes of toy-related deaths include drowning, suffocation, and riding toy accidents (such as when a child is hit by a motor vehicle while riding a toy, or when the child rides a toy into a body of water).
Where and when:
- Riding toys are responsible for the majority of toy injuries among children ages 14 and under.
- Most riding toy-related injuries occur when a child falls from a toy.
- Almost half of all toy-related injuries (47 percent) occur to the head and face area.
Who:
- Children under age 3 are at greater risk for choking on toys than older children, due to their tendency to put everything in their mouths. In addition, the upper airways of children under age 3 are smaller than those of older children.
- Boys sustain more toy-related injuries (60 percent) than girls.
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