The Importance of Slide Safety
“Slide Safety is trending...is it really something I need to worry about with my little one?!”
ANSWER - It feels a little out of season to be posting a blog about slide safety right before the week of Christmas, but this post is circulating around on Instagram, so I wanted to take a moment and bring awareness to the dangers of slides if you are not practicing slide safety. It is so important, and it is something that most parents are NOT aware of!
Even though my hubs calls me a fun sucker, because I don't let him swing the kids from their hands because of nursemaids elbow...I become even more a fun sucker with this one...
Research shows that the younger a child is, the more likely they’ll be to go down a slide on an adult’s lap, which means the higher the risk of a tibia (lower leg) fracture. To repeat..the younger a child is, the more at risk they are to have their leg broken when going down a slide on an adult’s lap.
When a child is on an adult’s lap, a child’s leg can easily get trapped & slip between or behind your legs, and the weight of the adult sliding down causes their lower leg to break. Truly, you don’t want to google it, so if you don't believe me just reference this post that was linked above.
So how do you avoid this injury while still letting your child enjoy the part? My advice would be to let them go down solo, on age appropriate slides, with you ready to catch them. If you absolutely have to have them on your lap for safety, I personally secure their legs as pictured, by grabbing both legs with one hand so that they can’t move them while you are going down.
I know, it seems like I am over cautious, but I promise the risk is not worth it for your little one! Did you already know this?! If not or you know a parent who needs to see this, please share it so we can lessen the percentage of broken bones from slides and keep our babies safe!
Hope this helps!
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For developmental questions, tips and guidance related to milestones about tummy time, rolling & sitting, crawling and walking, check out KC’s developmental Masterclasses linked here.
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KC is a pediatric doctor of physical therapy, wife and mom of three! She has spent her career working with children and young adults of all ability levels, and currently specializes in birth to three years.
