Safety refers to freedom from physical and psychological injury. It forms part of the basic human needs just like food, clothing and shelter. Therefore, a safe environment is extremely essential as it significantly reduces the chances for becoming ill and increases one`s sense of well-being. Environment includes all the factors that affect or influence one`s survival and life in general. There are various factors and agents that can cause illness, injury and even death depending on one`s age. This is people in different development stages have varying lifestyles, mobility status and safety awareness. For instance, considering the case of toddler, there are different causes of injuries and death. Injuries are considered to be the main cause of death in toddlers as compared to the other diseases. Lead poisoning, fire accidents, chocking as a result of putting objects in one`s mouth, and falling from playground equipment and bicycles are some of the causes of injuries, illnesses and even death. In addition, death can result from drowning and riding unrestrained in cars. Toddlers are curious and prefer to seek adventure by exploring the environment. Their curiosity can cause fire from match sticks and lead to chocking and poisoning from inserting objects in one`s mouth.
There are various ways through which injuries and accidents can be prevented in this stage. Parents ought to be educated on the various causes of dangers and how the adverse consequences can be minimized. For instance, parents ought to keep poisonous substances far away from their children. Toddlers should also not be left alone. There is a need to supervise their movements due to their curiosity nature. This will prevent instances of chocking and staring fires out of lighting matches.
All in all, accidents are preventable any age group. Therefore, parents and guardians at large need to be educated on the various causes of injuries, illnesses and death at different periods. In addition, it is essential to educate them on the possible ways of preventing the causes of accidents.
References
Robson, M. G., & Toscano, W. A. (2007). Risk Assessment for Environmental Health (Illustrated ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
The World Health Organization. (2012). Environmental and Health Impact Assessment of Development Projects: A handbook for practitioners (Illustrated ed.). London: Taylor & Francis.
