COLUMBUS, Ohio – Baby gates meant to protect young children aren’t always as safe as parents think.
A new study by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital says nearly 2,000 U.S. kids get emergency room treatment each year from injuries resulting from falling through or climbing on these gates and that the number injured on gates more than tripled over 20 years.
More than 60 percent of the children injured were younger thantwo2, and they were most often injured by falls down stairs after a gate collapsed or when it was left open, leading to injuries like sprains and strains and traumatic brain injuries, said Dr. Lara McKenzie, co-author and a principal investigator in the hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy.
She said children aged two to six years of age were most often injured by contact with the gate itself after climbing on it, which can lead to cuts.
McKenzie says most injuries weren’t serious but cautions parents to use bolted safety gates instead of pressure-mounted ones at the top of stairs.
The study appears in the journal Academic Pediatrics.