Falls and Injuries Among Toddlers and Preschoolers
Instruction: Respond to two classmates’ posts with a different safety education than you chose and add additional rationale for why this type of education is beneficial. Cite 1-2 scholarly sources to support each response.
Benny’s Post
Falls and Injuries Among Toddlers and Preschoolers
Cases of falls and injuries related to falls are quite common among preschool children. Unlike neonates, infants and toddlers, preschoolers are more independent from their parents (Omaki et al., 2021). Being alone, they can engage in risky plays such as swinging, rolling, and sliding. Besides, they are eager to explore and learn about new things, some of which could be risky.
Safety Education
Safety at home is my greatest area of concern. Inform the parents that bicycle riding, stairs, open windows, and playground equipment are some of the external hazards that can cause falls among children. For example, inform the parents always to ensure that their children wear an approved bicycle helmet anytime they are riding a bicycle. Also, inform them that this would help create the habit of helmet use even as the child ages (Son et al., 2018). In addition, they should ensure that the bicycle size is appropriate for the child. The balls of the feet must reach both pedals and should have both hands on the handlebars while sitting on the seat. Emphasize that children under five years have difficulties learning to use hand-operated brakes; hence traditional pedal brakes should be recommended. Remind the children and parents that preschoolers are immature to riding bicycles on the streets even if they are with adults.
Though preschoolers are cognitively able to master concrete information and can master situations they are in, they play poor judgment towards safety issues; hence this health education would be appropriate. Besides, bicycle riding is one of the greatest hobbies for this group. The safety education would be appropriate for children between 2 to 5 years as this group’s risk of falls is high.
Nursing Diagnosis
- Risk for injuries relating to developmental age and environment
- Risk for caregiver role strain relating to increased responsibility
- Readiness for enhanced parenting relates to parents’ desire to promoting their children’s safety as evidenced by parents attending the fall prevention teaching session.
