Hoverboards + Kids = A Trip to the ER?

What kid doesn’t want a ride on one of the flashy self-balancing hoverboards, zipping along the sidewalk without a care in the world? Unfortunately, a new study shows that these seemingly benign toys have sent a slew of children to the emergency room for various injuries. Among U.S. kids under 18 treated in emergency rooms in 2015-16, a total of 26,854 injuries can be chalked up to hoverboards. Right after the first models were launched, there were reports of boards overheating or catching fire. But rather than burns, the majority of injuries sustained by kids using hoverboards came from falls.  The journal Pediatrics reported that kids most often presented with injured heads, forearms, or wrists, with more than 40 percent of injuries being classified as fractures. Doctors also noted contusions, strains, and sprains. Fortunately, only about three percent of injuries required hospitalization. Dr. Sean Bandzar, an emergency physician at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and lead author of the study notes that most of these injuries could be prevented with protective gear. And, since most hoverboard injuries occurred at home, the study found that parental supervision in combination with helmets, leg, and wrist pads, is the best preventative to hoverboard injuries.  While it’s true that wheeled toys like hoverboards and skateboards definitely carry risk of injury, there is a great benefit to children to getting exercise and improving their coordination.  To provide the safest possible environment for play with these devices, parents should provide proper supervision and make wearing protective gear a non-negotiable house rule.