To them, most injuries are preventable and occur in predictable patterns - and thus are no accident. Each year one out of five children is injured seriously enough to require medical care.
Boys take more risks and have more injuries than girls.
Children from poor families are at highest risk. In addition, risk increases with family size and with frequent household moves. There are also geographic variations. For children as for adults, a disproportionate number of injuries are associated with stressful life events, such as the arrival of a new baby, divorce, death of a family member, or marriage of a parent. The effect of stress is cumulative, so during a period of multiple stressful events, it's especially important to be on guard against childhood injuries.