SCOTTISH parents are being urged to help prevent accidents involving children by sharing their experiences online to break the taboo surrounding the issue.
National charity the Child Accident Prevention Trust is asking parents to upload a short video telling their stories onto its Facebook page, ending with the campaign’s hashtag: #accidentsdohappen.
The move comes in Child Safety week and as new figures show that accidents account for one in 15 child deaths in Scotland.
Children of school age suffer most injuries on the roads or at play, while under-fives suffer most injuries at home.
Katrina Phillips, the charity’s chief executive said: “There is an overwhelming feeling among parents that they should be able to protect their children, so when an accident happens the guilt is enormous. People are now comfortable talking about many issues in society that were once taboo but accidents among youngsters remain one of them. This needs to change if we’re to save children’s lives.”
Annabelle Ewing, the Holyrood Minister for Community Safety, said the Scottish Government was fully supportive of Child Safety Week.
She added: “We all have a part to play and it often just takes a few small steps to help keep our children safer.
“This year’s theme, Together We’ve Got This, recognises that there is nothing more powerful than the voice of experience and it is vital that we share that experience with each other.
“In Scotland, we continue to progress our ambition to reduce unintentional harm working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, CAPT, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident’s (RoSPA) and other partners to reduce the number of deaths and injuries among children and young people in Scotland.”
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