Children in childcare more likely to be injured

Children left in childcare are at a higher risk of sustaining an injury, according to research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Children from deprived backgrounds left in childcare appear to be at a higher risk of accidental injury than those children with affluent parents.

The statistical information comes from records of 14,000 children who were part of the Millennium Cohort Study,  tracking the long term health and wellbeing of UK children born between 2000 and 2002.

It does not show when or where these accidents happened and did not necessarily occur during the child’s time in childcare which could be with a parent, relative, friend, babysitters or formal childcare provider.

The research led by Professor Catherine Law, from the  UCL Institute of Child Health in London, concluded that the UK government’s plans to improve education and training for childcare staff, and to provide 2 year olds living in deprived areas with free formal childcare places, may help to reduce inequalities in unintentional injury.