Causes Of Accident At Home And In School: What is an accident one would ask? An accident is an unpredictable, normally undesirable event that is not intended or directly caused by humans or the victim. When it’s an accident, no one is to be blamed as no one had seen it coming, but the situation may be as a result of ignored or unresolved risks.
When researchers study accidents (unintentional injury), they avert the use of the term accident to concentrate on other elements which increase the risk of severe injury and how to reduce that injury severity and incidence. An example is a tree falling in a wind storm. The falling of the tree was not caused by any human factor but because its size, location, type, health, or it’s improper maintenance may have contributed to it falling.
It is a great likelihood that accidents happen in schools because school children are prone to playing and running around. As children, they usually have not developed any sense of how things are done and how dangerous some of their play tools could be to them. As a result of their lack of knowledge, they are always prone to getting into accidents and hurting themselves.
School children are exempted from some of the activities in other to protect them this is because they may not realize that it could cause them any harm. However, regardless of this protection, it doesn’t guarantee that the kids will stay out of trouble because other children may influence or pick on them into getting themselves in trouble (accidents).
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Top 10 Causes Of Accident At Home And In School
Below are some of the most common accidents in schools and homes.
1. Playgrounds: All school playgrounds have equipment which is primarily designed for children for their recreation. They are carefully made and with careful consideration for their age to prevent any possible injuries.
A teacher has to be present to supervise the kids while they play because if they are not there to supervise, they may end up hurting themselves accidentally by not using the equipment appropriately (what’s it designed for).
Lots of the accidents happen from the inappropriate use of this equipment in the playground which may sometimes result in crucial injuries. For example, some children may get up the slide and down with their heads coming down leading to potential head injuries. Another is their not waiting for other kids to get down the slide safely before sliding down themselves.
2. Sports and Physical: Yes, physical education and sports are compulsory things in school education, but it is not entirely free from accidents. It is a very common thing for parents to get calls from their child’s school telling them that their child had gotten into an accident while practicing sports.
If the child’s school sporting activities involve heavy balls such as volleyball, basketball, or football, these forms of sports could lead to the athlete receiving a severe blow resulting in an injury.
Other injuries that can occur in this sports are a pulled muscle, a sprained ankle, a broken limb from falling too hard, and dislocated joints.
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3. Trips, Falls, and Slip: Children slip and fall for many reasons, like falling on a wet floor which could be wet for any reason, slipping down the staircase in the school building, or at home which could lead to a more severe accident.
If the child encounters a hard fall, he or she may end up breaking a limb or suffering from a back or neck injury. Some of the falls could lead to concussions or other brain injuries if the blow from the fall went directly to the head.
4. School Buses: When there is no proper supervision by the teachers, drivers, or guardians, accidents in school buses can occur very frequently. An example of an accident is when the child or children horse around on the bus, they may fall or trip. Some of the poorly maintained school buses could lack seat belts which would lead the students to hurt themselves if the driver suddenly hits the brakes. There are lots of instances when the children will refuse to use their seat belts or take them off later. This could happen when there is no one there to guide them. If the bus is not well ventilated or has air conditioning in hot weather, the children may suffer from heat strokes and faint.
School bus injuries are still the school’s responsibility regardless of the fact that it happened outside the school environment.
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5. Bullying: Bullying most often results in serious injuries. When a teacher is not around to supervise the students, the situation may escalate by the bully losing control of him or herself and terribly hurting the other student.
This is because not all children has a sense of danger and the bully may not know when to stop, leading to the infliction of severe injuries.
6. School Zone Accidents: Whether the students are coming down from the school bus, going home in their bikes, or going to the school or coming back, accidents at bound to happen in the school environment because of the schools rush hour and the congestion.
When traffic regulations are not properly put in place near the school, accidents could happen because of reckless drivers, or lack of pedestrian behavior knowledge from the students.
There is also a possibility that children could fall off their bikes or have a bike malfunction. Signs should be put up to alert drivers of the presence of school children and the children should be educated on the proper use of roads while providing them with guidance.
7. Cuts: For there to be a cut, there must be blood. This is very common with children both at home and in school because they are surrounded by objects that could hurt them starting from their room to their classroom, something as simple as a paper could do the trick. Therefore it is always important to look out for these kids and see that stay clear of these objects.
If they do get a cut, a simple first aid would do the trick by applying pressure in the affected area go stop the bleeding and applying antiseptic to the injury.
8. Burns: This is most common at home as schools have little or no hot areas. Hot drinks or food burn children severely because of their tender nature especially for children below the age of five. In general, all children should be kept away from open fires, cookers, irons, hair straighteners, matches and every other hot object as all these are dangerous to them.
When they get any burn, it should be kept under running water for at least 10 minutes before it is assessed.
Covering the burn with a clean film or bag from the first aid kit is a good way to ensure the burn heals properly.
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9. Falling objects: Children love to move around as they have lots of energy still in them, however when they start moving around on their own with no parental guidance, there is an increased possibility of danger which involves them pulling objects down on top of themselves.
Parents should always be conscious of their kids’ activities and make sure to take proper care by making sure any trailing electrical leads, table cloth edges, dish washers and the rest are out of the reach of the children to avoid accidents from happening.
10. Heavy objects: Children are fond of mimicking adults and trying to do what they have done and one of the things in their list is trying to be strong by lifting heavy objects they can lift but want to do so because they saw mummy or daddy do it.
Parents should provide proper guidance into making sure they do not try to lift these object as they would hurt themselves in the process.
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In conclusion, the possibility that a child may experience school or home related accidents is very possible. Some accidents are common and can happen for any reason, most of the time they are not sever and could easily heal. However, it is very important to educate the children of the possibilities of accidents occurring and how they can prevent it. They should be able to develop a sense of safety.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.