Even if you put your child in a glass case for protection, he'd find a way to break the glass and cut himself. Accidents happen in childhood, despite your best childproofing and safety efforts.

Here you'll find a list of the most common childhood emergencies and injuries, followed by breakdowns of the most common accidents from birth to 6 months, and 7 months to a year.

The most common childhood injuries



• Burns, one of the most common childhood accidental injuries. These include sunburns and burns caused by stoves, lamps, matches, lighted cigarettes, fireplaces, wood stoves, and hot liquid from a pan, cup, bath, or hot water heater.


• Head injuries caused primarily by falls from high chairs, beds, furniture, stairs, and play equipment.


• Choking on food or foreign objects.


• Strangulation caused by strings, ties, ribbons, and cords on toys, clothing, and household appliances and fixtures.


• Nose injuries caused by running into stationary objects, falling on a hard surface, or deflecting a flying toy (or the fist or foot of another child).


• Items stuck in a nostril, like small stones, chewable vitamins, pebbles, and peas.


• Cuts and scratches caused by sharp fingernails (either your baby's own or some other child's), pets, sharp objects, and encounters with sticks and other pointed objects that live in your yard.


• Fractures and sprains caused by hard falls and, as your child enters the toddler years, by playing energetically. Children tend to break bones more easily than adults because they have soft areas near the end of each bone called growth plates.


• Contusions — bruises under the skin — caused by bumps and falls.


• Insect and bee stings.


• Muscle strains, which occur most often when a child starts a new sport or activity.


• A pulled elbow, caused by picking up your child by one arm, jerking his arm forcefully, or swinging him around by the arms. The forearm bone actually slips out of the elbow joint and will sometimes slip back without medical attention.


• Eye injuries caused by dust, sand, or other types of foreign matter in the child's eye.