Children are more likely to be hospitalised for eating liquid laundry pods than quad bike accidents, according to the latest statistics from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
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But it is coin-sized lithium batteries and trampolines that will send the most parents and children to emergency departments across Australia this summer. At least eight children a day are injured on trampolines, with fractures, wounds and dislocations at the mild end of the trauma spectrum and spine and head injuries at the more severe.
''There are more than 4000 trampoline injuries reported each year,'' ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said. And she warned that the protective barriers could actually increase injuries as they gave parents a false sense of security.
But she said the most dangerous household product was lithium batteries. ''Within a matter of hours they can burn through the oesophagus or stomach lining.'' She said button battery injuries could also be misdiagnosed with devastating results. ''On an X-ray it can look like a 10 cent coin and the child on occasion has been sent home.''
