Anti-accident classes keep kids safe and sound

Physicians and NGO help children to identify and deal with hazards at home and in the community. Zhou Wenting reports from Shanghai.

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.