THE USE OF CHILD SAFETY RESTRAINTS WITH NURSERY FURNITURE

In Australia, nursery furniture is associated with just over 6% of all injuries to children between birth and 3 years of age and 19% (or almost one in five) of all injuries in the first year of life. In the case of injury associated with prams or strollers and high chairs, the vast majority of injuries occur as the result of falls (75 and 83% respectively). Interviews with parents whose children suffered an injury as a result of a fall from a pram or stroller or from a high chair indicate that only a small proportion of the children (28 and 25% respectively) were wearing any form of safety restraint prior to their injury despite the fact that, in both samples, the percentage of safety restraints fitted was about 80%. The potential for serious injury from such falls is great as most injuries in both groups (96 and 75% respectively) were to the head. One death associated with a stroller and one death as the result of a fall from a high chair have been recorded for Victoria between 1985 and 1988. In the absence of mandatory requirements for the design and manufacture of nursery furniture, there is a need to provide information about nursery furniture safety to parents and care-givers through nursery furniture retailers and through maternity hospitals and child health centres. In particular, the promotion of the correct use of an appropriate and effective child restraint is a relatively simple and inexpensive measure that could prevent up to 80% of all injuries associated with the three items of nursery furniture most often related to injury: strollers or prams, high chairs and change tables.