Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care - Early Child Development - Keeping our children safe as they grow

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Before you read this booklet

Children's Health – Early Child Development

Keeping Our Children Safe as They Grow

Children experience the most complex and dramatic changes in their growth and development during the first five years of life. There are risks associated with each stage of development, so the speed at which children grow and change is challenging for parents and caregivers who are responsible for keeping them safe.

As children grow their safety needs change. This booklet addresses the basic developmental milestones for children from birth to five years of age, and the main safety concerns associated with these milestones.

You will notice some of the same safety tips repeated for the different age groups. This is so that parents and caregivers who choose to read only one age group at a time will not miss any important information.

Injury-prevention tips are given for children from birth to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 1 to 2 years and 3 to 5 years and are listed under six headings :

falls
car crashes
burns
drowning
poisoning
choking

It might be a good idea to keep the tips for your child's age handy by putting them on the fridge or in the child's room.

Injury Facts
Injury is one of the leading causes of death during the first year of a child's life. Injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children 1 to 6 years of age. Boys are injured more often than girls. Two-thirds of childhood injuries happen at home during the first six years of a child's life.



Call the ministry INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only) TTY 1-800-387-5559 Hours of operation : 8:30am - 5:00pm

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