Stick to designated sledding sites to help kids avoid a trip to the ER, says Montreal trauma prevention expert
Sledding is a classic Canadian winter activity, but trauma experts say parents follow some basic safety precautions before their kids zip downhill on a toboggan.
For the second year in a row, the Montreal Children's Hospital is seeing a higher number of children hurt while tobogganing, many with serious injuries.
So far this winter, the Children’s Hospital has seen more than 50 cases of sledding injuries, more than twice the amount of what they saw pre-pandemic.
“Most of the injuries we see are broken bones,” said Liane Fransblow, trauma coordinator of the injury prevention program at the hospital.
Because so many other sports and activities are off limits due to COVID-19 restrictions, tobogganing is increasingly popular – and that means more injuries.
“These are mostly due to the fact that the kids are sledding on hills that are inappropriate for sledding and they’re banging into obstacles at the bottom of the hill, so something like a pole, a bench, a fence,” she said.
Most of the injuries are minor, but there are some broken legs. Fransblow said her biggest concern is head and spinal cord injuries.
“If they flip around somehow on their sled and bang into it with their head, they can have a very serious injury,” she said.
It’s rare, but it does happen. In Ottawa, just before the end of December, an 11-year-old girl died tobogganing at Mooney’s Bay. Witnesses say the sled she was on with two other people spun around and they slid backwards into a pole
Mooney’s Bay is a popular park but officially, it’s not for sledding.
It’s best to stick to places that are explicitly made for toboganning and posted on the borough or municipality’s website, Fransblow said.
“The biggest concern that we have is which hill people to sled on. Most of the injuries have been people sledding into objects, so think wisely before taking your kids out,” said Fransblow. “Choose the hill that's meant for sledding. Not every hill is a good hill for sledding.”
Designated sledding sites often snow added to them to ensure the slope is gentler, she explained.
Her other advice:
- Wear a helmet
- Don’t go too fast
- Sit up, and don’t sled head first
- Make sure you can't slide onto the street.
“We recommend helmets,” said Fransblow. “Nothing is 100 per cent foolproof. There is always a risk of either banging into someone else or you go sort of off track, or fall off your slide. And if you hit your head and you're wearing a helmet, you're safer than if you're not.”
Fransblow isn’t discouraging kids from sledding and having some fun in the snow, though, she just wants parents to take the proper precautions.
“We really encourage people to go out and slide, to get out. It's important for these kids. They've been stuck at home for so many years and years at this point with less activities than usual,” she said. “We want them to be active, having fun, it's important for their mental health and development – but we just want to make sure that they're safe before doing it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.