A nationwide program to make children more safety conscious was
launched in 30 cities Monday.
"Accidental injury, a major threat to students' safety, needs to be
brought to the public's attention," said Sun Yanhui, principal of
Beijing Dengshikou Primary School.
Yu
Kaiping, an 11-year-old student of the school, said he liked to
catch insects and play with cats and dogs, but was very often
bitten and taken to hospital.
"I
feel I really need to learn more about safety so my parents can
worry less about me," he said.
Many children have had similar experiences. Some have taken their
mothers' weight-loss pills after mistaking them for cold remedies,
while others have been trapped after taking dangerous
shortcuts.
But accidental injuries that claim children's lives and their
parents' happiness are the most tragic.
"Accidental injury tops the list of reasons for deaths among
children aged between one and 14 years," said Ding Zongyi, a
professor with Beijing municipal pediatrics research institute.
Over the past five years, 1.66 percent of Beijing Children
Hospital's inpatients across all departments and 5.14 percent of
its inpatients in the surgical department were child victims of
accidental injury, according to Chen Yajun from the hospital.
The central committees of the Communist Youth League of China, the
Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security have
jointly launched the new program to combat the problem.
All primary and high schools will hold lectures and contests this
year to teach students how to protect themselves from traffic
accidents, drowning, burns, poisoning, suffocation, falls and other
dangers.
The program also analyzes the reasons for, types and consequences
of accidental injuries to students.
(China Daily April 1, 2003)