Parents' Interests in Safety vs. Children's Risks

McDonald et al. showed the interests of parents in children's safety risks to be different from children's actual risks, in the October 2006 issue (Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 388-395) of Health Promotion Practice. Parents were interested in poisoning and car crashes. While children were as risk for poisoning, they were much more at risk for fires and falls than they were for car crashes. The authors conclude that asking "parents' interests prior to counseling may help to identify priority areas for counseling as well as dispel myths and unfounded fears regarded childhood injury risks." The article is called "Do Urban Parents' Interests in Safety Topics Match Their Children's Injury Risks?"