198 Households Participated In Product Round Up 2003 

Submitted by Carol Quinlan, RN, BScN, Public Health Nurse

Injury is the major cause of death and disability in Canada, Ontario and in our tri-county area. Children under 10 spend the majority of their time indoors and at home. In Canada, more than 75% of emergency room visits for children 0-4 years of age are for injuries that occur in the home. Almost 40% of all home injuries involve a product or the environment such as the stairs, floors or walls. 

Canadian homes are full of products designed to help parents raise their children safely, from car seats and cribs to strollers and highchairs. Product safety is affected by two important factors - product design and misuse. Older products have a greater chance of having missing or broken pieces or may be under recall. Examples of these products include: highchairs, cribs, and playpens. 

During Safe Kids Week, June 2-8, 2003; the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit joined forces with local waste disposal sites and fire departments to do a round up of any old, unsafe, and no longer used child equipment in people’s homes. Our goal was to raise awareness of product related injuries to parents and caregivers and to prevent future injury from unsafe equipment. The campaign covered the tri-county area and 198 items were collected. Each item that was collected and destroyed represents the reduced potential for injuries to children. 

The Health Unit would like to thank you for doing your part in making your homes safer for your children.

Please remember:
NO AMOUNT OF EQUIPMENT CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF ADULT SUPERVISION