Everyday accidents do not make the headlines. Yet they are the leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 14 in France. Santé publique France monitors them and regularly publishes data that help rank actual risks.
What the term everyday accident covers
An everyday accident is an unintentional accident occurring outside the workplace and outside road traffic. It includes accidents at home, at school, during sports, and during leisure activities.
For very young children, this category largely overlaps with household accidents. The home is where children under three spend most of their time.
Key figures from French monitoring
Santé publique France records more than 200 deaths of children under 15 each year linked to these accidents. The agency also estimates that there are around 2.4 million medical visits annually for this age group.
A five-year study of emergency department visits
Between 2014 and 2018, 208,735 emergency department visits for everyday accidents were recorded at seven hospitals participating in the monitoring program. This represents approximately 41,000 visits per year in this sample alone.
The highest frequencies concern two stages of life. The first is between 1 and 3 years old, and the second between 10 and 13 years old.
Severity varies by age and mechanism
Children under one are more often hospitalized after visiting the emergency department. The rate reaches 11% in this age group, compared with 4% to 6% among older children.
By mechanism, suffocation leads to hospitalization in 18% of cases. Exposure to a chemical product accounts for 19%, making these the most severe circumstances at comparable volumes.
Falls are the leading cause among younger children
Falls are the most frequent mechanism, particularly among the youngest children. They occur from furniture, a changing table, a bed, or a staircase.
Three habits that make a difference
Never leaving a baby alone on a raised surface remains the simplest rule. A stair gate installed at both the top and bottom of the stairs prevents the second most common scenario.
Finally, a cushioned floor reduces the impact of low-height falls that occur while children are learning to walk. This is one of the reasons we chose 15 mm XPE foam for our reversible foldable baby play mat.
Baths and household products
Bath time involves two distinct risks: drowning and burns. Santé publique France emphasizes that a child in water must be supervised continuously and kept within arm’s reach.
A stable bathtub at a suitable height reduces risky handling. For this reason, our foldable freestanding bathtub includes a thermometer and a drainage hose.
Household products should be stored up high and never transferred into a food or drink bottle. This confusion accounts for a significant proportion of childhood poisonings.
Stay informed and make informed choices
Monitoring baby product recalls is a useful addition to these everyday precautions. Knowing how to recognize a quality product also helps rule out unstable or poorly designed models.
Room layout matters just as much as the equipment, as we explain in our article on organizing a baby’s room. Our product approach is detailed on our About Us page.
Sources
Santé publique France, everyday accidents among children under 15 in France, monitoring of emergency department visits from 2014 to 2018, and mortality data.
