Injuries claim the lives of more children aged one to 19 years than all other causes combined. More than a third of all emergency visits involve children and adolescents.2 Studies during the 1980s revealed that inadequate training, improper equipment, and a lack of organized emergency services designed to meet children's special needs resulted in less than satisfactory outcomes for injured children. 3 Small and vulnerable Children are not just smaller than adults, they're proportioned differently. In very young children especially, the head is proportionally larger and heavier than that of an older child or adult, making it a prominent point of injury. Smaller overall body size results in larger skin surface area relative to body mass, which makes children more vulnerable to excessive loss of heat and fluids.
Veins are smaller.
A child's small airway can easily be blocked by swelling, blood, secretions, or foreign bodies such as teeth. Successfully performing emergency procedures such as endotracheal intubation and assisted breathing on children depends on having appropriately sized equipment and taking special care. Emergency personnel also require an understanding of childhood's different stages. Infants develop early motor skills and an awareness of their surroundings during the first year of life. Toddlers have a greater sense of autonomy but fear separation from familiar people and surroundings, and their limited language skills affect their ability to express and comprehend information.