Childhood safety advocates urge Canadian families to #FallProofYourHome

Parachute Safe Kids Week June 3 to 9 raises awareness to prevent the leading cause of childhood injury

TORONTO, June 3, 2019 /CNW/ - Parachute and Hydro One are urging Canadian families with small children to #FallProofYourHome by using a checklist to address key hazards that have been proven to cause serious injuries for children in the home.

Now in its 23rd year, Safe Kids Week, sponsored in Ontario by Hydro One, is an annual public awareness campaign to raise awareness about preventable injury in children. Safe Kids Week runs from June 3 to 9, 2019 and will focus on how parents and caregivers can prevent serious injuries from child falls.

Hydro One (CNW Group/Parachute)

"Falling is a normal part of children's development, as they walk, climb, run, jump, play and explore their environment," says Pamela Fuselli, Interim President and CEO of Parachute. "While most falls do not result in serious injury, more than 140,000 children are seen in emergency departments for fall-related injuries each year. For children under 5, most of these injuries occur in the home."

"Hydro One supports Safe Kids Week because there is nothing more important than safety at home, at work and in our communities," says Lisa Williamson, Vice President, Health, Safety and Environment, Hydro One. "No one plans for an incident to occur at home, which is why we are urging parents to participate in Safe Kids Week and fall proof their home to prevent injuries."

To date, more than 150 community partners across Canada are joining us for Safe Kids Week. Together, Parachute and Hydro One have provided more than 115 enhanced toolkits to run community events in Ontario. To find a Parachute Safe Kids Week community event in your area, please visit the Safe Kids Week local event listing.

Parachute's signature activity for 2019 is the #FallProofYourHome Challenge, where we're encouraging families to use the Home Fall Proof Checklist to address key hazards for children that cause serious injuries for falls in the home and use our "Completed the #FallProofYourHome Challenge" Digital Photo Frame on Facebook or use the hashtags #FallProofYourHome and #SKW2019 on their photos posted on Twitter and Instagram.

Parachute has provided many online resources available at no charge for parents, community organizations, and others who may be interested in reducing harm from falls. You can find them at www.parachutecanada.org/safekidsweek.

About Parachute

Parachute is Canada's national charity dedicated to reducing the devastating impact of preventable injuries. Injury is the No. 1 killer of Canadians aged 1 to 44, where one child dies every nine hours. The financial toll is staggering, with injury costing the Canadian economy $27 billion a year. Through education, and advocacy, Parachute is working to save lives and create a Canada free of serious injuries. For more information, visit us at parachutecanada.org and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

About Hydro One Inc.:

Hydro One Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Hydro One Limited, Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with almost 1.4 million valued customers, almost C$25.5 billion in assets and 2018 annual revenues of almost C$6.2 billion. Our team of approximately 8,600 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2018, Hydro One invested almost $1.6 billion in its 30,000 circuit kilometres of high-voltage transmission and 123,000 circuit kilometres of primary distribution networks and injected approximately $1.3 billion into the economy by buying goods and services in Ontario. We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are one of only six utility companies in Canada to achieve the Sustainable Electricity Company designation from the Canadian Electricity Association. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: H).

SOURCE Parachute

For further information: Kelley Teahen, Vice President Communications & Marketing, Parachute, 416 886-0950 (mobile), [e-mail]; Richard Francella, Communications Hydro One, 416 345-6868, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.parachutecanada.org/