Summer break spells danger
School holidays during the hot season are the most dangerous time for children as more are likely to be killed in accidents, according to the Ramathibodi Hospital Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Centre.
"Of 1,513 drowning cases involving children, 145 happen in March, 190 in April, and 153 in May," the centre's director Adisak Plitponkarnpim said yesterday. The school holidays start in March and end in mid-May. Drowning was the No 1 cause of accidental deaths among children, he said. "Parents need to pay close attention as young children often drowned in enamel basins, water buckets, wells and other water sources near home," he said. Adisak said that if drowning children were not rescued within five minutes they had minimal chances of survival. Adisak said traffic accidents were another leading cause of child deaths. "On average, 65 children are killed in traffic accidents every month," he said, adding that the figure climbed to 75 in March and 85 in April. He said other causes of accidental deaths were from poisoning, falling, burns, explosions and guns. "On average, these causes account for about 98 child deaths a month but the figure reaches 116 in March, 132 in April and 118 in May," he said.
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