Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital Shares Sledding Safety Tips

Sledding is a fun wintertime activity for families, however those exhilarating slides down neighborhood hills send more than 20,000 children to emergency rooms each year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics*. With winter in full swing, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) and the children's hospital for the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County,  is reminding parents, caregivers and snow-goers of all ages that sledding injuries are preventable, if the right steps are taken.

During a typical winter season, our pediatric emergency department cares for dozens of children injured while sledding, snow tubing and tobogganing," said Darshan Patel, MD, Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital "These injuries range from severe bruises and broken bones to facial injuries, fractured skulls and brain trauma."

"Once sleds and snow tubes start moving down a hill, they pick up speed very quickly and can be very hard for a child control.  As a result, children sustain injuries when their sleds strike trees, fences and other sledders," remarked Geralyn Flaherty, RN, Clinical Director of Emergency Services, Clinical Decision Unit and Critical Care Transport at Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of WMCHealth. 

"Often, the severity of the injury is compounded by the weight of a parent riding on the sled with the child. "The common thread among all of these injuries? They're preventable," expressed Flaherty.

Originally offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital shares the following tips for safe sledding:

• Keep sledders away from motor vehicles.
• Children should be supervised while sledding.
• Keep young children separated from older children.
• Sledding feet first or sitting up, instead of lying down head-first, may prevent head injuries.
• Consider having your child wear a helmet while sledding.
• Use steerable sleds, not snow disks or inner tubes. Avoid sledding in crowded areas.
• Sleds should be structurally sound and free of sharp edges and splinters, and the steering mechanism should be well lubricated.
• Sled slopes should be free of obstructions like trees or fences, be covered in snow and notice, not be too steep (slope of less than 30º), and end with a flat runoff.

Following these and other safety measures will help ensure a memorable family experience on the snow. "Families should end their sledding day with warm blankets and cups of hot chocolate and not with a visit to our Pediatric Emergency Department," concluded Dr. Patel.