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SALT LAKE CITY -- Kids don't often wear helmets when they sled, but E.R. doctors hope helmets will soon become the standard.
Helmets can prevent injuries if there was a crash -- even death, in rare occasions.
Each year more than 20,000 children are injured in sledding accidents. -Pediatrics Journal
KSL went out to some popular sledding hills Thursday and found that wearing helmets while sledding hasn't caught on yet.
At Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City, a group of mothers took their kids for a day of sledding. Though the kids did not wear helmets on this outing, they have them.
"If I let them go with teenage nieces and nephews, not myself supervising, then I would for sure send them with helmets," said mom Louise Hannig.
But doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center want to see kids wearing them all the time.
Kristin Schoolman, an E.R. physician at the hospital, said they have seen at least three serious accidents this year alone; two caused broken legs and the other a serious head injury.
The past 18 months, Primary Children's has had 21 total sledding accidents patients. This winter season, counting December 2010 to now, the hospital has had 15 total sledding skiing and snowboarding patients.
"This year we've been lucky and not had a lot of serious head injuries on sledding accidents, but we see that it's common every year," Schoolman said. "[Helmets] could definitely prevent those injuries, or lessen the severity of them."
Schoolman hopes wearing helmets sledding will become the new trend.
"In the olden days our grandparents or even our own aunts and uncles thought it was ridiculous to wear a seatbelt, and now we are all hopefully wearing our seatbelts," she said.
Schoolman offers more piece of advice when sledding with your kids: "The most important thing is looking around where you child is sledding, making sure they have a clear field to sled down into."
The largest percentage of injuries occurred among children 10 to 14 and boys were almost 10% more likely to get hurt than girls. -Pediatrics journal
One thing to note: Bicycle helmets aren't adequate protection for sledding because they aren't made for a hard enough impact. You'll need a skiing or snowboarding helmet to fully protect your child.
The National Safety Council has several tips for staying safe on sledding hills:
- Make sure children and adults wear helmets and bundle up. The helmet helps prevent head injuries, and bundling up keeps you warm and provides padding and protection.
- Go feet-first down the slope. This will greatly reduce the risk of head injuries.
- Use a steerable runner sled because they're much easier to control.
- And stress to youngsters that while sledding is fun, it can be extremely dangerous.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
