1 Division of Pediatrics of The Beverly Hills Clinic and Department of Pediatrics, University of California Medical School, Los Angeles
The basic problem in childhood accident prevention is one of education involving physicians, parents and children. The physician must learn more about the causes of accidents, he must also perfect his techniques of teaching parents how to assume their role in accident prevention.
The ultimate responsibility for juvenile accident prevention falls on the parents, but this should be conveyed to them in a non-frightening manner and with an assurance of possible achievement. This is possible with a theory of accident prevention which embraces a reciprocal relationship between protection and education related to age.
It is essential that parents realize the importance of parental example in the education of their children. The most stimulating educational device is supervised participation. If parental example is good and supervised experience is imaginatively conceived, then and then only can didactic instruction of the child be effective.
Finally, attention is called to the fact that here presented is a paper on accident prevention in childhood which is devoid of statistics.