Dr. Brandenburg puts together all the information you could ever possibly imagine on how to spot hidden hazards, dangers at home, at school, on the playground, and in the car. The section I found  most useful was  the Age-specific recommendations. The author concentrates Part II of the book on Age-Related Injuries and divides the chapters by Infants(0 - 12 months); Toddlers and Preschoolers(1 - 5 years); and School Age children(6 -13 years. 

For each age category he discusses Developmental Milestones and the new dangers associated with them. He discusses the common causes of injuries for each age and how they can be prevented. He also discusses "Object-Specific Hazards" which he describes as certain products that can carry a greater risk of injury to a child. 

It was extremely hard to choose just one excerpt from this book but since I had to, I did. The following is from Dr. Brandenburg's chapter, Age Related Injuries, Toddlers and Preschoolers.

GENERAL HAZARDS

AUTO-PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS

It is no secret that toddlers do love to run, and at times yours will run simply for the sake of running. Whether she travels in tight circles around the living room or shoots straight across your lawn, you can bet she will be impulsive and unpredictable. One moment she can be playing in your backyard, and in the next darting across the street. Although your toddler's physical skills will allow her to move about quickly, her cognitive skills will take a while to catch up. To make matters even more difficult, she will have very poor judgment and little understanding of danger. In her mind, a moving automobile is as harmless as her own tricycle. And she will be unable to recognize boundaries such as property lines, sidewalks, driveways, or streets. Combine all this with the fact that she is so small and barely visible to drivers,  and you can see why supervision near a street is always a must. Most auto-pedestrian tragedies do, in fact, occur close to home - either on the driveway or in front of the house. Also, they occur with some frequency near schools and bus stops.

Indeed, auto-pedestrian accidents account for some staggering statistics. Roughly 35 percent of all auto-pedestrian accident victims are toddlers. And over five hundred children in this age group are killed in this way each year. National estimates reveal that the majority of toddlers in  the one-to-two year age range who are stuck by automobiles were hit  when a vehicle was being backed down a driveway. Older toddlers, on the other hand, were usually playing near their homes without supervision and were hit by automobiles driving down the street.

THE THREE OUTS
Several common factors are typically associated with auto-pedestrian accidents that involve toddlers. Be aware of these scenarios and avoid them at all costs.

DART-OUTS. Most important is the "dart-out" move, which is when a child darts from between or behind parked cars into the street. Often the driver of an oncoming vehicle has little warning when this occurs. Dart-outs account for nearly 70 percent of auto-pedestrian accidents involving young children. What prompts a young child to dart out into a street? Sometimes a preschooler is chasing a ball or another toy, and at other times is running after an adult, another child, or a pet.

* Move all cars from both sides of your street to decrease the chances of a dart-out.
* Never allow your toddler to play in the front yard.
* Always keep a close eye on her when she is near a street.

BACK-OUTS. Your toddler can also be injured if she happens to get behind a car as it is being backed down a driveway. Always take the time to fully walk around and to look beneath your vehicle before getting in.

AFTERNOON OUTS. What time of day do you think auto-accidents involving toddlers and preschoolers are most likely to occur? Once again,  this type of injury is very predictable. Most kids are struck by moving vehicles after they have been released from school or day care but before dinner - between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00pm. During this time, many people are driving home from work. Keep your child away from streets, especially between these hours.

WHAT TO TEACH YOUR CHILD
Educating your tyke on pedestrian safety is one of the most important protective actions you can take. She will carry this knowledge for the rest of her life. Teach her the following rules during the preschool years:

* Always hold the hand of a familiar adult when crossing a street or intersection
* Never play in a street - this includes riding a toy, throwing a ball, or talking with other children.
*Never chase a ball or a toy that rolls into the street.
*Never play on a driveway or in a parking lot without an adult.
*Never go in between or beneath a parked car.

Mark Brandenburg, M.D. is a full-time emergency physician at St. Francis Hospital is Tulsa. The Trauma Emergency Center at St. Francis is the busiest emergency department in Oklahoma, with nearly 70,000 patient visits each year, and serves as the regional trauma center for children.

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