Everyday accidents do not make the headlines. They are nonetheless the leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 14 in France. Sante publique France monitors them and regularly publishes data that helps rank the real risks.
What counts as an everyday accident
An everyday accident is an unintentional accident occurring outside work and outside road traffic. It covers accidents at home, at school, in sport and during leisure activities.
For a very young child, this category largely overlaps with the domestic accident. Home is, after all, where a child under three spends most of their time.
Key figures from French surveillance
Sante publique France records more than 200 deaths of children under 15 each year linked to these accidents. The agency also estimates around 2.4 million care episodes a year in 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 in seven hospitals taking part in the surveillance. That is roughly 41,000 visits a year from this sample alone.
The highest frequencies concern two periods of life. The first falls between 1 and 3 years, the second between 10 and 13 years.
Severity varies with age and mechanism
Children under one year old are more often admitted after an emergency department visit. The rate reaches 11% in this age group, compared with 4% to 6% among older children.
By mechanism, choking leads to admission in 18% of cases. Exposure to a chemical product reaches 19%, making these the most severe circumstances at comparable volume.
Falls dominate among the youngest
Falling is the most frequent mechanism, particularly among the youngest children. It happens from a piece of furniture, a changing table, a bed or a staircase.
Three habits that change the odds
Never leaving a baby alone on a raised surface remains the simplest rule. A stair gate fitted at both the top and the bottom of the steps closes the second most common scenario.
Finally, a cushioned floor reduces the impact of the low falls that come with learning to walk. That is one of the reasons we chose 15 mm XPE foam for our foldable reversible play mat.
Bath time and household products
The bath concentrates two distinct risks: drowning and scalding. Sante publique France points out that supervision of a child in water must be constant and within arm's reach.
A stable bathtub at the right height reduces risky handling. That is why our foldable bathtub on a stand includes a thermometer and a drainage hose.
Household products, for their part, should be stored high up and never decanted into a drinks bottle. That confusion explains a significant share of paediatric poisonings.
Staying informed and choosing knowingly
Keeping an eye on baby product recalls usefully complements these everyday habits. Knowing how to recognise a quality baby product also helps rule out unstable or poorly designed models.
How the room is arranged matters as much as the equipment, as we explain in our article on organising the nursery. Our product approach is set out on our about page.
Sources
Sante publique France, everyday accidents among children under 15 in France, emergency department surveillance 2014-2018 and mortality data.
