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When you drop off your child at school, use this checklist to make sure
these hidden hazards aren't waiting to cause injury or death.
- Drawstrings on Jackets and Sweatshirts -- There should be no
drawstrings on hoods or around the neck. Drawstrings at the waist or
bottom of jackets should extend no more than 3 inches to prevent catching
in car and school bus doors or getting caught on playground equipment.
- Loops on Window Blind Cords -- Cut the loop and attach separate
tassels to prevent entanglement and strangulation in window blind cords.
One child a month strangles and dies in the loop of a window blind pull
cord or inner cord. Keep cords out of childrens' reach. Install cord stops
to prevent formation of loop in inner cord.
- Bike Helmets -- Buy a helmet that meets one of the safety
standards (U.S. CPSC, Snell, ANSI, ASTM, or Canadian), and insist that
your children wear the helmet each time they ride their bike. About 900
people, including more than 200 children, are killed annually in
bicycle-related incidents, and about 60 percent of these deaths involve a
head injury. More than 500,000 people are treated annually in U.S.
hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries. Research indicates
that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.
- Soccer Goals -- Make sure that the athletic director or the
custodian anchors the soccer goals into the ground so that the soccer goal
will not tip over and crush a child.
- Playgrounds -- Check the surfaces around playground equipment at
schools and parks to make sure there is a 12-inch depth of wood chips,
mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or mats made of safety-tested rubber or fiber
material to prevent head injury when a child falls. Each year, more than
200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries
associated with playground equipment. Most injuries occur when a child
falls from the equipment onto the ground.
- Recalled Products -- Make sure your child's school has up-to-date
information on recalled toys and children's products. Schools, daycare
providers, and parents can receive recall information by FAX, e-mail, or
in the regular mail free of charge by calling the CPSC hotline, or writing
to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the
public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of
consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous
product or a product-related injury, you can go to CPSC's
forms page and use the first on-line form on that page. Or, you can call
CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270,
or send the information to info@cpsc.gov.
Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information
from the Publications
section of CPSC's web site or by sending your publication request to publications@cpsc.gov.
If you would like to receive CPSC's recall notices, subscribing to the email
list will send all press releases to you the day they are issued.
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