Most often, injuries are sustained jumping on a trampoline, riding scooters and not observing road traffic rules.
Within the past three weeks, the NMPD have gone on over 15 calls where children had been in the water without adult supervision.
A 3-year-old child was taken to hospital in a very serious condition - his parents found him in a nearby lake. The baby was successfully pulled out of the water but was not breathing, so until the NMPD arrived, family members, listening to the NMPD dispatcher's instructions over the phone, gave him first aid, resuscitated him, and managed to save him.
In another case, a five-year-old child's life could not be saved despite prolonged resuscitation efforts, first by family members and then by NMPD medics. The child was found in a pond in the backyard.
NMPD medics said: "Parents, do not let your children swim alone, keep an eye on your little ones, as even a moment unsupervised can be fatal, and talk to your teenagers about the incompatibility of alcohol and swimming."
NMPD medics have taken several children under the age of three to hospital with extensive burns these days after they fell on top of a hot grill or pushed their hands against it. There were also two cases of babies falling out of a window.
There are also many fractures and head injuries, mainly caused by jumping on trampolines or riding scooters recklessly in the street and skate parks.
Although the number of NMPD calls to children and adolescents usually increases during the summer holidays, this year it has increased even more compared to previous years.
NMPD data show that on average, medics now attend 80-90 calls to children every day, compared to around 60-70 calls in the same period in previous years. NMPD medics also observe that injuries are more complex and severe, due to carelessness and recklessness.
The NMPD noted that to avoid accidents, which often have tragic consequences, children and adolescents need to be considerate and parents doubly responsible. Medics call on adults to repeatedly discuss with children and young people how to avoid accidents and serious injuries. A good tool for this is the digitally-distributable magazine "Child Safe Summer" produced by the Disease Prevention and Control Center and available on the SPKC website here.
