As a parent, your number one priority should always be your children. From helping them grow to providing for them and keeping them safe, they rely on you for just about everything. However, mistakes happen, even among the best parents, and these parenting mistakes can put your children at risk of a potential injury.
It’s crucial for a parent to always be alert of potential hazards around their children; anything can happen at any given time. A personal injury lawyer may come across cases where a child was injured due to these parenting mistakes, and it’s important for you to know about them so that you can do everything in your power to avoid them. Here are the top five mistakes that a parent makes that put their children in harm’s way.
Improper Car Seat Installation
This statistic may shock you: more than 80 percent of car seats are installed incorrectly. An improperly installed car seat is essentially useless when it comes to keeping your child safe in the event of an auto accident. If you’re having trouble properly installing your child’s car seat, it may be more beneficial to contact a certified installation technician rather than doing it yourself. Even with a personal injury lawyer on your side, a good opposing party will try to find negligence on your side if your child’s car seat is improperly installed.
Leaving Children in the Car Unattended
It seems that your vehicle is the most dangerous place for an unattended child, especially when it comes to extreme weather conditions. Temperatures inside a vehicle can rise or drop significantly in just a few minutes. For example, on an 80-degree day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach up to 100 degrees in just 10 minutes. If a child overheats, forget a personal injury lawyer — someone might have to get in contact with a wrongful death lawyer.
Along with the risk of leaving a child in a car, there are also scenarios where a child might accidentally put the car in motion when left unattended. This is a mistake that parents might make when they are in a rush; they leave the car running with their kids inside, not realizing that children are naturally curious. A child might then play with the gears or pedals and no one wants to think about what happens if they do.
Leaving Your Child Unattended in a Bathtub or Pool
Leaving children unattended near any body of water is always a bad idea. One of the biggest mistakes that a parent can make is getting too comfortable while with their kids around any body of water. Children should always receive constant supervision, especially in these situations. Whether your child can swim or not, kids do not understand that they might not have the stamina to stay afloat in deeper bodies of water and they must be watched.
Giving Kids Choking Hazard Foods
On average, a child will pass every five days in the United States due to choking hazards. Foods such as whole grapes, popcorn, chips, nuts, hot dogs, chunks of meat or cheese, and anything else of the nature pose as significant dangers to their well-being. Parents in these situations are often too neglectful and that is why choking is a leading cause of injury and death among children, especially under the age of four years old.
Leaving Children Unattended at Parks and Playgrounds
This is probably one of the most common mistakes that leads to personal injury amongst children. When parents let their kids run around a park or playground unattended, they’re at risk of bodily injury via the playground equipment, as well as in danger of more serious manners such as abduction. It’s important for parents to be attentive and aware of their children, especially at crowded parks.
No parent is perfect, but you can take the necessary precautions to ensure that your child stays safe in dangerous situations. If your child has been injured due to another parent’s negligence, contact a personal injury lawyer at Robert J. DeBry and Associates. We’ll help you get the compensation that you deserve for any medical bills and damages.
Sources:
https://www.momtastic.com/parenting/103641-top-10-safety-mistakes-parents-make/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100226212559.htm