Baby bottles, pacifiers and child sippy cups are essential items but they pose a serious risk of injury to small children.
According to a recent report from Healthday News, these common products were responsible for more than 45,000 serious injuries to children in the USA since the early1990’s. The report indicates that many children were admitted to hospital accident and emergency rooms due to cuts and other injuries suffered when a baby fell with one of these items in their mouths or through other means.
Among the 45,000 injuries to children, more than 2,200 recorded by the study were linked to baby bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups. These injuries were among children under 3 years of age.
Most injuries were caused by a baby bottle and even more were prompted by a fall. When children are first learning to walk, it is not uncommon for them to move about with a bottle, pacifier or a sippy cup in their mouths. Since they are so unbalanced learning to walk, they are more likely to fall with these products in their mouths putting them at risk of cuts, bruises and other injuries.
The best way to reduce these risks is to wean children from these products as soon as possible. Researchers also noted that injuries related to these products reduce by 41% over time.
