When people think of kids and trauma, they often think about car accidents. “However, in reality, falls are the leading cause of childhood injury and most of them happen around the home,” says Christopher Moir, M.D., pediatric surgeon at Mayo Clinic Children Center, who has cared for a wide variety of injuries related to falls.

There are approximately 8,000 children treated in emergency rooms for falls every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At Mayo Clinic’s Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, 35 percent of the children cared for in 2014 were the result of a fall.

Falls can happen anywhere but some of the most common mechanisms for kids’ falls are from playground equipment, off changing tables, off infant seats placed on high surfaces, from baby walkers, out of shopping carts and out of windows. When children fall out of windows, the injuries that result are more serious than other types of falls. Dr. Christopher Moir offers tips on preventing falls by children.

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