A Common Source of Injury For Kids

Every six minutes, a child under the age of five is treated in the emergency room for this.

According to a study, little kids are seen way too often in the ER because of a stair-related injury.

And it's not just toddlers tumbling down and getting hurt. Kids younger than one who are being CARRIED on stairs are especially at risk.

According to the study, it's all about multi-tasking.

The study's author says "We're in this multi-tasking world where we're trying to do a lot of things, and parents need to resist that temptation."

If you do need to carry a child on stairs, you should keep one hand free to steady yourself on the handrail...or else just leave the child in the crib until you can properly make the trip on the stairs with them and you're not trying to juggle carrying a bunch of other things just to avoid yet another trip up or down the stairs.

As for toddlers, wall-mounted gates at the tops and bottoms of the stairs is a great solution. As is teaching the kids to use handrails.

(U.S. News and World Report)

And I have one thing to add, having had my child once fall down the stairs. Please watch out for anything left on the stairs. My child slipped on a magazine and landed on his head. I thank God every day that he's okay.

Now I live in a single story home.