Moms and dads use umbrella strollers frequently. A recent huge stroller recall brings up the old question of how really safe little ones are in them, and how these essential pieces of baby gear can be made safer.

Umbrella strollers are designed to keep kids safe. They usually feature harness systems as well as shock absorbing wheels which turn effortlessly when they run into obstacles. On the other hand, they’re used to transport little ones fast in stores with hard floor surfaces or over pavement by moms and dads who do not always use the safety harness correctly. Furthermore, they’re made to fold down fast, leaving aluminum parts exposed to kid’s tiny arms, fingers as well as legs.

Retrospective Study on Stroller Injuries

Each year over thirteen thousands kids under the age of three are injured in stroller related accidents. These accidents have been studied in past several years. A retrospective study on stroller related injuries looked at over sixty five thousand injuries reported by NEISS (a national probability sample of hospitals in the United States and its territories) between ‘94 and ‘98.

The rate of injury was a hundred and eighty four per one hundred thousand kids, with slightly more baby boys than baby girls injured (51 percent to 49 percent), and an average age of eleven months. The majority of injuries were from falls (76 percent) or the stroller tipping over (11 percent), with smaller number of injuries reported from stroller folding, and accidents involving cars.

Types of Injuries Found in Studies

The number of injuries found were face or head injuries; eighty seven percent of all injuries were to the face or head. Of the nearly one thousand kids rushed to ER, seventy percent were for head trauma. Contusions (i.e. bruises), lacerations, fractures and even closed head injuries accounted for most of the injuries.

The recent Maclaren (Maclaren is a famous British stroller manufacturer) stroller recall was initiated due to a notification received – a dozen kids suffered fingertip amputations from hinge accidents! Kids usually put fingertips directly into the side hinge wither while riding in the stroller or when getting out or in of it. Interesting information is that over 1.000.000 strollers made in this century were recalled.

Using Umbrella Strollers Correctly to Put a Stop to Accidents

The main injuries described in studies of stroller related accidents are caused by falling out of it. Umbrella strollers all are designed with some sort of safety harness. On the other hand, moms and dads usually forget to put them on or even do not put them on properly. Simply fastening the belt around the child’s waist is not exactly enough; small babies require the crotch-strap in place in order to keep them from sliding out from under the harness.

Little rascals in strollers need parents to look out for them. Baby deaths have been reported when kids became trapped in the leg opening after slipping under the safety belt or even not being properly strangled or restrained. Others have died of asphyxiation due to incorrect positioning inside the unit.

Strollers must never be carried down and upstairs with the little one in them. Deaths as well as worst injuries have resulted when strollers were accidentally dropped, particularly in case the little one was not fastened and fell out of the unit.

Remember to put the safety wheel brakes on! Kids have been fatally or seriously injured when strollers rolled into the path of automobiles or in bodies of water. A responsible parent should keep a hand on the handlebars at all times, i.e. whenever possible. Make sure to check the stroller’s brakes and other mechanical parts frequently, in order to ensure they are still okay, particularly in case the unit is an old model.

Check the hinges as well as other movable parts on the unit for pinching potential. Ensure kids do not place fingertips, legs or hands anywhere near the hinge when getting out or in of the unit or when riding inside it. Do not hang bulky handbags or shopping bags from handlebars, particularly lightweight umbrella strollers. They can and will cause the whole unit to tip backward.

How to Avoid Injuries?

Baby strollers are built to be safe. On the other hand, even the safest models are only as good as the parents using it. Furthermore, even those with best reputations for safety can (and sometimes will) malfunction or even have some potentially dangerous design flaws. Therefore, moms and dads simply have to be vigilant about checking umbrella strollers for safety concerns and, most importantly, use harness at all times – when the little one is inside, even on short trips to the local grocery store.