Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Watch out - it's kids' injury season

By Lydia Anderson
Whanganui Chronicle·
3 Jan, 2014 08:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Skateboards, scooters and trampolines can cause nasty accidents. Photo/File

Skateboards, scooters and trampolines can cause nasty accidents. Photo/File

While Wanganui kids are having a blast these school holidays, the increased free time will likely see a spike in nasty accidents.

Last year 3354 ACC injury claims were lodged for Wanganui kids aged 0-14, costing taxpayers $773,578. This was down from 3411 the previous year at $794,088.

Nationwide 334,141 child injury claims were lodged during 2012 at a total cost of $63,901,699. Boys were the most accident-prone with 188,529 claims, compared to girls with 145,612 claims.

Wanganui Hospital emergency department head Athol Steward said staff saw an increase in children's injuries during holiday periods especially when the weather warmed up.

"At the moment it's skateboards and scooters and trampolines. We've seen a few nasty scooter injuries, [and] falling out of trees and breaking limbs."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Scooters had grown in popularity recently, he said. "You can get going quite fast on a scooter, so when you do come a cropper you do some nasty damage."

One child had come in with a fractured sternum after his chin collided with his chest while he tried a backflip on a trampoline. He recovered with pain relief and rest.

Dr Steward recommended parents made sure their children wore helmets on bikes and other wheeled equipment, and always wore seatbelts in the car.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We've got to accept that kids are active and they will fall and injure themselves from time to time."

The majority of ACC child injury claims nationwide were for minor injuries. Soft tissue injuries, such as bruises, strains and sprains, led to around 152,600 claims, while lacerations, puncture wounds and stings resulted in around 98,100 claims. The next most common injury category was fractures and dislocations. Other injuries included dental injuries, burns, "foreign bodies" in eyes, and concussion.

ACC's Insurance and Prevention Services general manager John Beaglehole said many minor injuries happened during everyday, healthy play, so were simply part of childhood.

"But at the same time, there are things you can do to help prevent injuries."

How parents went about this would depend on their child's age, he said.

"With preschoolers, it's basically up to parents and caregivers to manage their risks, by checking their environment and through good supervision. As kids get older, you still need to set boundaries, but it's also about helping them start to learn to manage risk sensibly themselves. That means talking to them about risks and being a good role model."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly

Whanganui Chronicle

Wills Week promotes charitable giving

Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly
Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly

The Whanganui academy's training certification remains suspended.

16 Jul 04:00 AM
Wills Week promotes charitable giving
Whanganui Chronicle

Wills Week promotes charitable giving

16 Jul 03:00 AM
Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu
Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu

15 Jul 09:15 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP