Injuries in Norwegian Early Childhood and Care (ECEC) Institutions

Abstract

Children's play and exploration involves risk and a possibility for being injured. Early childhood and care institutions (ECECs) should provide children with physical challenges in a safe environment. Over the past years, the attention towards playground safety and injuries in ECECs has increased. Norwegian practitioners have a liberal approach to children's risk taking in play, raising questions on injury prevalence in Norwegian ECECs. The aim for this study was to gain knowledge about the injury prevalence and characteristics of the injuries in Norwegian ECECs. Managers from 2105 institutions completed an electronic questionnaire retrospectively asking the managers to report injuries and accidents the past year. The results indicate that injuries are rare in Norwegian ECECs, and that most of the injuries are minor and do not require a follow-up from professional medical personnel. The moderate and severe injuries are very rare, and often mishaps. There are some indications that boys experience injuries more often than girls do and that the most injuries happen outdoors. The main cause of moderate injuries is falling, both outdoors and indoors.

Environmental and practice factors associated with children’s device-measured physical activity and sedentary time in early childhood education and care centres: a systematic review

“…Previous research explored the injury incidence rates in 2105 ECECs in Norway, concluding that injuries were rare but more commonly occurring outdoors. Injuries were typically minor and more prevalent among boys than girls, with falls being the most common cause [28]. Current research in relation to injuries has primarily focused on outdoor risky play.…”

“…Whist previous reviews have examined the potential benefits of outdoor versus indoor PA, none have examined the association with accidents and injuries. A single study involving 2105 Norwegian ECECs indicated that most injuries, which were typically minor and more common in boys, occur outdoors [28]. However, the associations between outdoor PA and play and injury are unclear.…”

Children save lives: evaluation of a first aid training in Norwegian kindergartens

“…Children seek out risk in their natural play, as documented by Sandseter (2009), who observed Norwegian children's outdoor play and noticed children's use of higher height and speed as an attempt to increase risk and excitement in their play. Sando et al (2017) sent an electronic questionnaire to 6397 Norwegian kindergartens and asked them to retrospectively report the amount of injuries in their kindergartens in 2012. The results showed an average of 0.16 injuries per child per year, which is very low.…”

“…Norwegian playgrounds are typically built to offer children diverse ways to experience risky play, with swings, slides, climbing frames and trees so that they can explore and manage risk in play and learning. This approach seems to work well to minimise injuries, with reports showing the minimal incidence of accidents and injuries in Norwegian kindergartens (Sando et al 2017).…”

Innendørs risikofylt lek: Muligheter for spenning og variasjon i barnehagens lekemiljøer?

“…For det første kan det henge sammen med skader, eller, kanskje heller frykten for at barn skal skade seg. Riktignok hender det at barn skader seg i barnehagen, men det er svaert få alvorlige skader (Sando et al, 2017). Det meste er skader som kan håndteres av barnehageansatte, for eksempel blåmerker og skrubbsår.…”