Attention, nervous parents: A new study shows that toy-related injuries have been steadily increasing, with one popular toy — the scooter — deserving most of the blame.The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital revealed in a study published online December 1 in Clinical Pediatrics,that from 1990-2011, over 3.2 million children were treated in U.S. emergency departments for a toy-related injury. Contrary to what many of us think about child’s play being safer, throughout the duration of that 22-year period,the injury rate actually rose almost 40 percent. In 2011 alone, one child was treated every 3 minutes, and more than half the injuries reported were to children younger than 5.The main culprit? Toys that children ride, like scooters, wagons and tricycles. But specifically, foot-powered scooters are what have been injuring kids. From 2000 (when Razor scooters really hit the scene) until 2011, there were an estimated 580,037 injuries — or one every 11 minutes — which makes them responsible for most of the increase in total toy injuries.USA Today also reported that the Consumer Product Safety Comission (CPSC), which releases an annual injury report, revealed that in 2013, injuries via scooters topped the list, with 52,500 scooter-related injuries, and even one scooter-related death.So if Santa is planning to gift a kid a shiny new scooter, he should throw in a helmet for good measure. (And maybe some knee pads, too? Just a suggestion.)
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