Playing indoors is more likely to injure children as NHS data shows strain injuries linked to video gaming have shot up by 65 percent in the last decade
- Data shows same number of children being admitted to hospital as ten years ago
- But far fewer accident-related admissions are the result of an outdoor mishap
- More likely to need treatment for issues linked to screens and video game use
Children today are much more likely to hurt themselves at home than playing outside.
Data from the NHS shows that about the same number of youngsters are being admitted to hospital after accidents as ten years ago but far fewer are as a result of an outdoor mishap and children are more likely to need treatment for complaints linked to screens.
Some 885 children aged 14 or under ended up in A&E after falling out of trees in 2008-09, while the figure had decreased by 33 per cent in 2018-19 to 593.
NHS data shows same number of children are being admitted to hospital after accidents as ten years ago but far fewer are as a result of an outdoor mishap
There was an even sharper drop in those involved in ‘non-collision’ cycling accidents – down 38 per cent from 3,998 to 2,491 over the same period.
Meanwhile, hospital admissions for repetitive strain injuries – often associated with video game use – increased by 65 per cent.
Disturbingly, there was a 432 per cent increase – from 305 to 1,623 – in incidents of children injuring themselves through ‘intentional self-harm by a sharp object’.
TV presenter and naturalist Stephen Moss, who has written a report for the National Trust on the lack of nature in modern childhoods, said: ‘The most dangerous place for a child to be is in their bedroom because that’s where unacceptable internet content can reach them.’