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NH Health Officials Urging Parents & Caregivers to Monitor Children Around Stairs

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LEBANON, N.H. -

Health officials in New Hampshire are urging parents and caregivers to monitor children around stairs.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center says in 2012 they have seen a significant increase of children being injured from stairs. They say there were almost triple the number of children who have been injured.

Parents and caregivers should take a look at their home and are encouraged to do the following:

• Install safety gates at the top and the bottom of staircases.  Accordion-style or tension gates are not recommended. They are very hazardous because your baby can get his or her head caught in it and become strangled.
• Actively supervise toddlers on stairs. Hold their hands when climbing up and down stairs.
• Make sure stairs are clear of toys and other objects.
• Ensure that all open stairwells have railings around them that a child cannot wriggle through.
• Have strong, secure railings on all stairs.
• Baby walkers are not safe.  Instead, consider a stationary walker that allows a child to move in place but does not have wheels.

In the United States more than 100,000 children are injured from stairs every year.

  • NH Health Officials Urging Parents & Caregivers to Monitor Children Around Stairs

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