Wairarapa tots buck ACC trend

Data released by ACC showed there were 805 ACC claims made for children under-5 in Wairarapa between January and November in 2014.

Wairarapa's tiny tots have bucked the national trend by having fewer injuries this year than in 2013, ACC figures show.

Data released by ACC showed there were 805 ACC claims made for children under-5 in Wairarapa between January and November in 2014. This compared with 817 claims made for the same period last year.

Nationally, there were 106,322 ACC claims for children under-5 from January to November this year and 105,842 for the same period in 2013.

Masterton recorded the biggest drop in injuries in the region -- down from 561 claims in 2013 to 546 this year. In Carterton, there were 83 claims both years and, in South Wairarapa, there were three more claims this year, than in 2013.

Wairarapa mother Janeen Bruce said it was common for children under-5 to have small accidents while learning to walk but parents shouldn't try and "wrap them in cotton wool".

"My kids love to explore and be outdoors, which I really encourage," she said. "We live on a farm so there is always the potential for things to go wrong or accidents to happen but I believe it is important for them to get out there and explore. Kids need to be kids and not wrapped in cotton wool. I was raised on a farm and it's great to learn about nature first hand."

Ms Bruce said although she would rather prevent her children from getting hurt, it was a good way for them to learn valuable life lessons.

"Children learn from their accidents and that is how they grow. The only big accident we have had in our household was a broken arm when my little girl fell off her bed. It was just one of those everyday things that could have happened to any of my kids but that was a learning curve for her."

Nationally, the most common cause of injuries this year were loss of balance, with more than 40,000 claims, ACC said. Collisions were the second most common injury at more than 10,000 claims.

Plunket's child safety adviser Sue Campbell said more could be done to prevent injuries in the under-5s.

"A lot of these accidents, or a majority of them, are preventable and, by that, we mean that if the adult is aware of the age and stage that the child has developed mentally then they can make some changes to the home environment where the majority of these accidents happen," she said.

"We don't mean to stop children learning and developing, taking a bit of risk and having fun but just to stop the serious injuries from occurring. We are talking about things like preventing falls which is the key hospitalisation for children under-5.

"The range of injuries that we see are huge. Falls are the biggest one, followed by poisoning when children get access to household cleaners or medications. These things need to be kept out of reach and out of sight."

Families needed to be extra careful at Christmas time, she said.

"Christmas can be a stressful time for a family. Adults may not be as careful with their kids as they normally are, due to so many other things happening, but it is important to always have an adult in charge of looking after the kids.

"If they are down by the water then take turns being in the water with them and having fun with them." NZME.