2-year-olds have highest frequency of tricycle injuries: study

Atlanta – Parents and caregivers need to make sure kids are staying safe on tricycles, new research shows.

Using 2012-2013 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, researchers from the Medical College of Georgia studied an estimated 9,340 tricycle injuries in children. They found that boys, and children aged 1 and 2, accounted for the most injuries (63.6 percent and 51.9 percent, respectively).

The most common type of injury was a cut, typically on the face. The most frequently injured body part was the head. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which published the study, recommends that children wear helmets when riding a tricycle.

Other results include:

• About 2.4 percent of injured children were admitted to the hospital.
• The average age of a patient was 3.
• Children age 2 had the highest frequency of injury.
• The most commonly broken body part was the elbow.

In 2012, tricycle crashes were “the most common cause of toy-related deaths” among children, the academy states.

The study was published online Sept. 14 in the journal Pediatrics.