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Take these steps now to prevent your child from falling out of an open window:

• Teach your child not to lean on or play near windows.

• Don’t leave young children unsupervised in a room with an open window, even if the window is covered by a screen. Screens are designed only to keep insects out, and are not strong enough to keep a child from falling out of a window.

• Move furniture away from windows to discourage children from climbing up to them.

• If you must open a window, do so from the top instead of the bottom.

• Install (or ask your landlord to install) window guards or window stops that allow windows to open only a few inches.

Injuries From Trampolines

Trampolines have become a significant source of injury in children and adolescents. Visits to hospital emergency departments for injuries sustained on home trampolines nearly tripled from 1991 to 1999. Most injuries (including sprains, fractures, cuts, and scrapes) involve the arms, legs, and face, but a few cases of paralysis and death also have occurred. These injuries usually occur when children collide with another person on the trampoline, land improperly, fall or jump off the trampoline, or fall on the springs or frame. Most doctors believe that trampolines of any kind—outdoor or indoor—are unsafe, and doctors often discourage parents from buying them or allowing their children to play on them.

• Don’t let your child play with an inflated, uninflated, or broken latex balloon.

• Avoid toys with sharp edges or points, that shoot objects, or that are made of brittle plastic that could break into small pieces or leave jagged edges.

• Throw away plastic bags and wrappings immediately; a child can put these over his or her head and suffocate.

• Use a toy box with a lid that stays open in any position so it cannot fall on your child’s head.

• Check your child’s toys from time to time for broken parts and potential hazards. Repair or throw away damaged or dangerous toys.

• Instruct older children to keep their toys away from younger siblings and friends.

• Teach your child to put toys away when finished playing with them so no one trips or falls on them.

• Make sure your child wears a helmet every time he or she rides a bicycle, skateboard, or scooter.

• Check with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov) for toy recalls.

Bicycle Safety

To make each bike ride safe and fun, buy your child a bike that is the right size—not one that he or she needs to grow into. Adjust the seat and handlebars to fit your child properly. Your child should be able to put the balls of both feet on the ground while sitting on the seat. Check to make sure that all of the bike’s parts—including the brakes—are secure and in working order. If the bike you buy is used or if your child is using an older bike, have it tuned up and adjusted at a bicycle shop.

Never let your child ride a bike without a helmet, or with a helmet that does not comply with government product safety standards. Bicycle helmets can lower the risk of serious head injury by 85 percent. Choose a helmet that fits snugly and sits flat on the child’s head. If necessary, use the extra padding that comes with the helmet to ensure a proper fit. You can remove the padding as your child grows.

Most children are not ready to ride a bike without training wheels until they are 5 or 6 years old. Don’t purchase a bike with hand brakes for your child until he or she is older and a more experienced rider.

Children under age 9 should not be allowed to ride in the street. Children between ages 9 and 12 should ride in the street only when accompanied by an older adolescent or an adult. More than 70 percent of all motor vehicle collisions involving bicycles occur near driveways or at street or alley intersections, so tell your child to be especially vigilant at all intersections. Children under age 12 should walk, not ride, a bike through an intersection. They should stop at the intersection; look left, right, and then left again; and then walk