976512424
News

Rentals unsafe for toddlers: Report

Friday 16th of January 2015

The Growing Up In New Zealand longitudinal study of 7000 children has released research into household safety.

It found 28% of privately-owned rental properties did not have working smoke alarms, 43% did not have fully fenced or separate driveways and 28% did not have a fenced play area for young children.

“By the age of two years, 28% of the Growing Up in New Zealand children had sustained an injury that required a doctor or hospital visit, with 69% of these injuries occurring in the child’s own home,” said senior research fellow Sarah Berry. “Home is where children spend most of their time during their early years, so it is a good place to focus our attention if we want to create safe environments for children to grow up in.”

Of the injuries that occurred at home, the most common injury type was a knock to the head without losing consciousness (38%), followed by cuts needing stitches or glue (10%), broken or fractured bones (10%), injuries to the mouth or teeth (10%), and burns or scalds (9%).

Want to read the full article?

Click the button below to subscribe and will have free unlimited access for a limited time to full article and all other articles on the site.

You will also be able to comment on articles on Good Returns.