Anti-accident classes keep kids safe and sound
2018-08-15 09:01:49 China Daily Li Yan
A girl tries to identify potential dangers in a kitchen during a safety lecture in Shanghai. (ZHOU WENTING/CHINA DAILY)
Physicians and NGO help children to identify and deal with hazards at home and in the community.
As she delivered a lecture to a group of school students at a hospital in Shanghai, Zheng Jicui, a pediatrician who specializes in trauma treatment, posed a question.
"Have any of you ever bumped into something by accident and been injured?" she asked the group, ages 7 to 14.
Zhou Qile, an 8-year-old boy, responded quickly: "I once stumbled over a scooter placed in the middle of the room at home. I fell and bumped my head."
Other children recalled how they had fallen off chairs when climbing up to grab food or toys that were out of reach, had been scalded by mugs of hot water left on tables, or hurt when other children had carelessly hit them in the eye with chopsticks.
According to pediatricians, a lack of safety education is a main reason that accidents such as these occur to children in China.
That is why the Children's Hospital at Fudan University in Shanghai is offering a series of classes for school students during the summer vacation for the second year running.
The eight lectures focus on different topics－such as safe swimming and identifying foods that can potentially trigger allergic reactions or breathing problems.
They have been arranged by the hospital and the China branch of the NGO Safe Kids Worldwide to alert children to the dangers that may lurk in seemingly commonplace activities.
About 50 million children in China are injured in accidents every year, and about 71,000 die, according to a report published in December by the National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention and Safe Kids Worldwide.
Last month, accidents claimed the lives of 40 children and adolescents across the country, according to media reports.
"Accidents are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents under 14 in China. We believe that most accidents are avoidable if kids are equipped with sufficient knowledge and take precautions," Zheng said.
She added that it is essential that the relevant information is provided by experts, such as clinicians, and the classes are offered directly to children rather than adults.
"There are always situations in which parents cannot keep an eye on their children, so kids have to be aware of risks and stay away from them," she said.
On July 11, Huang Ke, a second-grader at a primary school in Shanghai's Minhang district, attended a 60-minute lecture about accident prevention in the home－especially in kitchens, bathrooms and on balconies.
Later, she said it was the first time she been made aware that she should never plug in appliances when her hands are wet because of the possibility of sustaining an electric shock.
According to Huang, her teachers show the students safety videos, but do not offer in-depth explanations of problems or dangerous situations.
Cui Minyan, chief representative of the China office of Safe Kids Worldwide, said, "If this is a reflection of the situation regarding safety education in one of China's most-vibrant cities, it is understandable that improvements are urgently needed in other regions."
Education matters
This year, 25 children from several schools have been selected to attend the eight classes, and they will be expected to pass on the knowledge they gain to their peers, the hospital authorities said.
The number of participants is limited to ensure that every child has the chance to engage in the scenarios so they will fully understand the safety procedures being taught and can pass on that knowledge.
In addition, the lectures are shown in real time online, so parents and children can watch them together and learn how to avoid accidents and deal with the consequences if they do occur.
The classes are provided during July and August because the summer vacation is the peak season for accidents involving children, as a result of their greater exposure to unfamiliar activities at home and in the community.
Children generally believe their homes are safe but actually nearly half of all accidents happen in the home, far more than in the community or on the roads, according to Zheng, who quoted national CDC data.
"Therefore, it's of great importance that children spend time learning how to avoid potential safety hazards, such as cluttered floors, bathtubs filled with hot water, cooking pots containing boiling liquids, or electrical appliances," she said.
She noted that people are paying greater attention to safety issues, and called on clinicians to play a role in providing authoritative education.
"We must provide information about cases we deal with every day to raise children's level of vigilance," she said.
Behavioral changes
The children taking part in the classes are required to undertake assignments after every lesson, such as identifying potential safety hazards at home, rectifying the situation and taking "before and after" photos to mark the changes.
They are also asked to encourage other children to follow suit and look for hazards in their neighborhoods.
The assignments are designed to inspire behavioral changes in the children as they become aware of potential dangers, said Fu Lili, director of the hospital's Department of Social Work.
The lecturers, mainly doctors, communicate their knowledge in interactive, highly visual ways that children can easily understand, she said.
For example, when a lecturer wanted to stress the importance of wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle she started by dropping an unprotected egg onto the ground, followed by one wrapped in a foam blanket.
"It makes a big impression on the kids when they see the first egg break while the second remains intact," Fu said.
"Some parents told us that after the class their children insisted on wearing helmets when they rode their bikes, and said, 'Mom, I don't want my head to become a broken egg!'"
Experts said it takes time and effort for people to translate knowledge into action, but it is worth making the effort.
"The cost of avoiding such accidents is rarely high and sometimes it is negligible－that compares favorably with the often sky-high cost of rescue and recovery after an accident. Sometimes accidents claim lives," said Li Hao, director of the Trauma Treatment Center at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.
Cui said: "One easy example is that you can always keep cigarette lighters out of children's reach at home. That costs nothing."
She added that UNICEF figures indicate that effective precautions, including bicycle helmets and baby seats in cars, can reduce the accident rate for children and adolescents by 50 percent.
Zheng said that since 2015 her team has provided 60-minute-long, one-on-one safety education to every child treated at the trauma center－along with their parents－before they are allowed to go home.
Such education can often promote changes in the children's habits and even prompt parents to make changes at home to provide a safer environment.
The changes can include installing childproof fences at the top of staircases and fitting external railings on windows to prevent children from falling out.
"It doesn't cost much to install external railings on windows, but the death rate resulting from falls from high buildings is extremely high," Cui said.
