Last month alone, eight children were taken to Cook Children’s Emergency Department after being hit by cars while walking or riding bicycles. The same number of children were injured in February.

“Over the past couple years, we’ve seen the numbers increase,” said Sharon Evans, Trauma/Injury Prevention Coordinator at Cook Children’s. “We can’t say why this is happening, but we do know children do not have the cognitive skills to cross a street safely by themselves until they are at least 10.”

According to a new study released by the University of Iowa, 10 may still be too young. Researchers suggest children may not have the perceptual judgment or motor skills needed to safely cross a street until they are 14 years old. The study used virtual reality to simulate a busy street. Then, children, ages 6 to 14, were asked to cross multiple times.

The results show the children, up to their early teenage years, had a difficult time deciding when to cross the street. The study also evaluated how often the children were involved in an accident during the simulation.

Accident rates from the study:

· 6 year olds – 8%

· 8 year olds – 6%

· 12 year olds – 2%

So what do parents need to know?

Do not allow children under the age of 10 to cross the street by themselves. Even better, wait until they are a teenager and able to confidently know when to safely cross.

Cook Children’s recommends teaching these behaviors before allowing a child of any age to cross the street alone:

• Look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Cross when the street is clear, and keep looking both ways while crossing. Walk, don’t run.
• Understand and obey traffic signals and signs.
• Walk facing traffic, on sidewalks or paths, so that you can see oncoming cars. If there are no sidewalks, walk as far to the left as possible.

“When I visit children who have suffered pedestrian injuries, the most common thing they tell me is that they thought the driver saw them,” explained Evans. “It’s important to teach your children that just because they see a driver, it doesn’t mean the driver sees them. They need to make eye contact with the driver and wait for the driver to stop and signal to them before attempting to cross the street.”

The 19 year old’s defeat of Efimova was not only a matter of national pride, but serves a teaching moment for children everywhere about doing things the right way. Efimova had served a 16-month suspension for doping from late 2013 to early 2015. Russia has been under heavy scrutiny since its track and field team was banned following a state-sponsored doping program.

“It’s incredible, just winning a gold medal, and knowing I did it clean,” King said after her victory.

Joel Steelman, M.D., an endocrinologist at Cook Children’s, hopes young people watched and listened to King.

A survey in 2014 by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids found that 11 percent of teens in grades 9-12 reported “ever having used” synthetic human growth hormone without a prescription.

The U.S. Department of Health’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, published in 2012, stated that about 3.2 percent or 640,000 high school athletes, both boys and girls, had tried steroids at least once.

Dr. Steelman said what has happened to the Russian Olympic team is a perfect example of why kids use performance enhancing drugs (PED). They want a competitive edge in sports, hoping they can be a star athlete and make it to college or pros.

Another reason for taking PEDs is the body image factor. A kid may be looking for a shortcut to achieve that idealized body – more muscular or lean.

Dr. Steelman said symptoms of PED use may be subtle, but there are signs:

• The body change is the most obvious one – a more muscular appearance.
• A growth spurt in height may occur in younger kids as natural androgens produced by the body in puberty lead to a growth spurt.
• Dramatic slowing in height gain occurs later, post puberty, because one of the effects of these drugs is closing the growth plates more rapidly.
• Acne and other skin changes in both boys and girls.
• Facial and other body hair may occur for both boys and girls.
• Mood changes – anger, moody, etc.

Dr. Steelman said parents should be looking for these red flags, especially changes in temper and behavior. He also advises parents to watch for obsessiveness about sports, competition and body image.

When talking to your children, Dr. Steelman suggests reminding them that performance enhancing drugs are illegal and can cause serious damage to their health. Steroids and other PEDs are harmful to the body both in the short term but also longer term risk:

• Growth stunting
• Impacts on fertility
• Risk for liver disease/tumors
• Increased blood clotting/stroke risk

“The achievement of athletes like Lilly King is a great example to young people,” Dr. Steelman said. “I hope parents take this opportunity to talk with their kids. They should know that they can still achieve their goals by doing things the right way.”

Photos from USA Swimming. 

About the author

Joel Steelman, M.D., is an endocrinologist at the Cook Children's Endocrine and Diabetes program, which treats infants, children and teens with conditions that are caused by or affect the hormonal balance of the body. We understand the importance of working together and that's how we approach the care of our children.