Unintentional injuries kill more than 7,000 children ages 1-19 in the U.S. each year – close to 20 deaths per day. Injuries are the leading cause of child death, and these injuries are often preventable.

Prevention takes many forms. Government policy helps tremendously. As an example, regulations requiring carbon monoxide detectors allowed people to prevent or escape dangerous carbon monoxide buildup in their homes. Engineering innovations help also; car seats, child-resistant medication lids and soft playground surfaces each prevent countless injuries and deaths.

A third pillar to child injury prevention is behavioral: To a surprisingly large degree, the adults in children’s lives can change the math on injury risks.

As a child psychologist who has studied child injury prevention for three decades and authored the book “Raising Kids Who Choose Safety,” I study ways to change human behavior and reduce the burden of child injury.

Since adults are better able to recognize injury risks than children, they are often in a position to intervene before injuries occur. And children can also promote their own safety when they follow safety rules and, especially as they get older, make safe decisions.

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