[Patty]: Welcome to CPSC’s podcast for Tuesday, August 19, 2008. I’m Patty Davis.

Millions of children are headed back to school this fall. CPSC is urging parents to pay special attention to safety this school year.

CPSC’s Julie Vallese is here to tell you what you need to know to prevent your kids from being injured.

[Patty]: Julie, we see lots of injuries each school year. Helmets, for example, can make a big difference can’t they?

[Julie]: Wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of injury by as much as 85 percent. It’s really something so simple to do. You wouldn’t send your kids off to school without their books. Just don’t send them off to school riding their bike without their helmet.

[Patty]: What can you do to make your child’s clothing safer?

[Julie]: Well one thing is to look for drawstrings. Drawstrings shouldn’t be there in the first place. And if you do find them, remove them. They can be a strangulation hazard. It’s something that you just may not put two and two together, but when it comes to back to school, checking over your children’s clothing is really a smart thing to do.

[Patty]: Soccer goals are also a concern at CPSC aren’t they?

[Julie]: Well the CPSC is aware that soccer goals have tipped over, killed some children and seriously injured others. So if your child is planning on going on the playing field, make sure that the soccer goals are secure, that they have anchors and that kids aren’t playing on them like a jungle. They are a soccer goal meant to catch a soccer ball, not something for a child to be monkeying around on.

[Patty]: All kids like to spend time at the playground. Yet there are more than 200,000 hospital emergency room visits each year due to playground-related injuries. What can parents do to ensure that their kids are safe at their school’s playground?

[Julie]: Well parent should ask questions about the playground just as they would the classroom. Ask the officials whether or not they are well maintained. Go out and inspect them. Make sure that there is shock absorbing cushioning for your child so that if they do fall there is a safety net underneath them. The other thing that parents can do is take a look at how well maintained it is. Make sure that there isn’t exposed hardware, free hanging ropes or anything that children can get entangled on. Being on a playground should be really a fun experience that kids don’t have to worry about. But parents should ask those questions.

[Patty]: Thanks Julie.

You can find out more about gasoline container safety, as well as information about recalls announced by CPSC, at cpsc.gov. While you’re there, sign up to receive our recall announcements directly to your email inbox.

That’s it for this week’s CPSC podcast. Thanks for listening.

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