Bicycles, ball sports and roller sports top the list of eight staples of fun that lead to the most bruises and broken bones among children, reports a new study.
But that doesn't mean parents shouldn't let kids have fun, the researchers say.
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"Participation in these kinds of activities is important for the development of a child's physical and social skills. We don't want to take away from that at all," says lead study author Dr John Purvis, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical School.
He says the study should serve as a heads-up to parents - a warning that supervision, well-designed equipment and a little caution are important when kids are being kids.
For instance, Purvis suggests keeping kids from chewing gum while playing ball games. Apparently lots of kids get it stuck in their windpipes.
To keep kids safe, Purvis suggests parents:
Make sure all bike riders wear helmets, understand traffic rules and stay off roads at night.
Dress ball players in well-laced, appropriate shoes with good traction and discourage wearing jewellery.
Have a doctor check any child who wants to participate in tougher games, like rugby. Some deaths in the sport have been linked to previously unrecognised heart ailments.
Make sure all roller-bladers, skateboarders and scooter riders wear helmets as well as wrist and knee protectors.
Encourage your community to replace old, outdated playground equipment and make playground surfaces shock absorbing. Most playground accidents happen when kids fall.
Protect the leg bones of soccer players with shin guards.
Make sure all goal posts are securely fastened and uprights are padded.
Make all baseball catchers wear face masks and batters wear helmets with face guards. And discourage young pitchers from throwing more than 200 pitches a week.
Just say no to trampolines. Both the American Academy of Paediatrics and the orthopaedic surgeons' group say they can't be made safe at home or at school.
Still, all the common-sense advice in the world won't eliminate all bruises and breaks.
Some kids are simply accident prone, says David Schwebel, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"It isn't a coincidence, and it's not because their bones are weaker," Schwebel says. "Personality and temperament are major contributors. Certain children are more impulsive than others, and that plays a big part in why they have more accidents."
Schwebel says his research suggests that while teaching such kids to stop and think before they leap may help, that's easier said than done.
"Impulsivity is relatively stable throughout life," he says. "An impulsive infant tends to grow up to be an impulsive adult."
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