Keeping Children Safe Keeping Children Safe
Research study outcome
University of Nottingham
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    • Falls

    What our research told us out about falls in under 5 year olds

    Babies

    Do use a changing mat on the floor to change your baby’s nappy where possible

    Don’t change your baby’s nappy on a raised surface (e.g. beds, worktops, tables, etc)

     
    Only leave car seats or bouncing seats on the floor, and where they can’t be tripped over
    Don’t leave your baby in a car seat or bouncing seat on a raised surface (worktops, tables, etc)
     
    Do watch your baby when on a raised surface
    Do not leave your baby unattended on a raised surface such as a bed or sofa
     

    Why?

    • Because our research showed that babies whose nappies are changed on a raised surface or are put in car seats or bouncing seats on raised surfaces are more likely to go to hospital because of a fall.
    • Babies who are left unattended on raised surfaces are more likely to go to hospital because of a fall than those who aren’t.

    Safety gates

    Do use safety gates across doorways and stairs
    Don’t leave safety gates open
     

    Why?

    • Because not using a safety gate was found to increase greatly the risk of a fall on the stairs (and leaving it open increases the risk even more).
    • Our research showed that children who live in homes without safety gates across doorways are more likely to need to go to hospital because of a fall from furniture.

    Climbing and furniture

    Do limit how often your child climbs or plays on furniture, or carefully supervise them
    Don’t let your child climb and play on furniture unsupervised
     
    Teach your child not to climb on objects in the kitchen
    Don’t let your child climb in the kitchen
     

    Why?

    • Because children who climbed or played on furniture more often were more likely to go to hospital because of a fall from furniture than those who didn’t.
    • Children in our study who were taught not to climb in the kitchen were less likely to go to hospital due to a fall from furniture.

    stairgate-image


    Please note:

    The advice reported on this site is based on what we learnt from our research.

    For more advice about falls please visit these websites:

     

    Preventing other accidents

     

    This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (RP-PG-407-10231)

    Disclaimer

    The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.

    Keeping Children Safe

    The University of Nottingham

    telephone: +44 (0) 115 846 6901
    email: denise.kendrick@nottingham.ac.uk