About 100,000 will be hospitalized, and nearly 12,000 will die. About 112,000 of these burns are scald burns. According to Safe Kids Coalition, about 37,000 of these people are 14 or under, and about 18,000 are 5 or under. The United States has the highest rate of burns in the industrialized world, according to the National Safety Council. Burns are the second leading cause of death for young children ages 0 to 5.
Children burn faster than adults because they have thinner skin.
Water heaters leave the factory set at 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes 2 seconds for a child to receive third degree burns from water at 150 degrees. It takes 5 seconds if the water is at 140 degrees, and 30 seconds at 130 degrees. Go into the kitchen and turn on the hot water tap and leave it running for two minutes. Hold an outdoor thermometer or candy thermometer in the stream of running water until the temperature stops rising.