RISK WATCH: MAKE TIME FOR SAFETY
"Risk Watch, its logo, and icons are copyrighted by NFPA. 1998. All rights reserved."
According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign®, each year, unintentional injuries kill and disable more children than kidnapping, drugs, and disease combined --- making them the #1 health risk facing school-age children today.
What is Risk Watch
Risk Watch is an injury prevention program for children in preschool through eight grade. It is designed to help children and families create safer homes and communities by teaching them the skills and knowledge they need to make positive choices about their personal safety and well-being. Risk Watch seeks to prevent the major unintentional injuries that threaten children in this age group. Each of the following topics is presented in the Risk Watch program:
Risk Watch is the first comprehensive injury prevention curriculum available for use in schools. Developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Lowe’s Home Safety Council in collaboration with national experts, the private sector, and safety advocates.
Aren’t Injuries an inevitable part of growing up?
A few bumps and bruises are an unavoidable by-product of a healthy childhood. But most serious injuries are not inevitable. Traffic injuries, drowning, fires, scald burns, choking's, poisonings, and falls are not random "accidents" – they are predictable and preventable. With education, motivation, and the support of caring adults, children can learn to be much safer.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) commitment to this goal is crucial, because each year preventable injuries and deaths exact a terrible toll. Every year in the United States, one-quarter of all children ages 14 and under are hurt seriously enough to require medical attention. In Canada, injuries are the leading cause of death for children over one year of age. Every time a child is injured or killed by something that could easily have been prevented, everyone suffers – the child, his or her family, classmates and friends, and the entire community.