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Children's Health Children's Safety

Injury Prevention for Five- to Eight-Year-Olds: At Play

Summary & Participants

Children between the ages of five and eight years old are at an exciting period in their lives. Though very active, they often have difficulty with judgment of sound, speed and distance, making them prone to accidents. Join us for a discussion of outdoor injury prevention in this age group.

Medically Reviewed On: July 10, 2008

Webcast Transcript

BONNIE BOSWELL: Hello, I am Bonnie Boswell and welcome to our webcast. We are talking about injury prevention in five-- to eight--year--olds. This is a group that is moving and grooving, they are out there and can sometimes get into trouble. Our guest to talk about these issues and what parents can do to help prevent some of these problems is Dr. Alan Nager. He is a doctor here at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, and is the Director of the Emergency Department.

Let's talk about these free--wheeling spirits that are out there doing things. They are playing. Describe their behavior and what makes them at this developmental point in their life to get into trouble.

ALAN NAGER, MD: I think this age range is especially difficult. It is difficult for a number of reasons. Children are becoming more independent. They want their chance to go out and explore the world. They are willing to take chances because they don't know any better, because they are in the process of learning about their environment.

BONNIE BOSWELL: And parents want that.

ALAN NAGER, MD: Parents do want that, they just want it to happen at appropriate stages. Kids at this age also are trying to learn that certain behaviors result in certain actions or consequences. That does not happen quickly or innately. That has to be learned. If you do this particular action, this may result.

Kids are also faced with the opportunity to be impressive in front of their friends or peers.

BONNIE BOSWELL: So, peer pressure really begins to come into play strongly here.

ALAN NAGER, MD: Peer pressure is huge. There are lots of accidents that occur because kids want to fit in. They want to belong, they want to be part of the group. Part of that process involves taking chances. Unfortunately, many of those chances ends up in a significant injury.

BONNIE BOSWELL: At this time of their life, they are also becoming introduced to sports, and then that lets in a whole new set of possible circumstances. Talk about what are some of the things that parents should be aware of when their child gets into sports.

ALAN NAGER, MD: I think that learning new sports at this age brings about several problems. First off, a sport to your child may be very, very new. So, they may have conceived ideas of what that sport involves, when in fact, they have to go through the process of learning the rules of the game. Learning what the equipment is all about, what it is used for, how it even fits, what happens if you don't use it properly. They also, I think, are in the process of learning how to act as a member of a group. A team means you are one of several team members. It involves cooperation. Part of being cooperative means that you learn how to behave in a particular setting with a group of other kids.

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