A winter storm that turned North Texas into a sheet of ice has led to a spike in emergency room visits related to sledding accidents, prompting pediatricians to urge parents to take immediate safety precautions.

Cook Children’s Health Care System has treated more than 60 children for sledding-related trauma since this weekend, with children as young as 2 years old. Injuries include bone fractures, head and facial trauma and internal organ lacerations.

Medical experts emphasize that the region's current conditions are far more dangerous than typical soft snow.

“This is not snow that we have here in Texas; this is ice,” said Taylor Louden, M.D., medical director of emergency services at Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth. “When kids hit their head on ice, it can cause catastrophic injuries.”

Dr. Louden warned that because most sleds are not equipped with a braking system, children have little to no control once they gain momentum on icy slopes.

“Sledding can be extremely dangerous,” said Dr. Louden.

As children head outdoors to enjoy their day off from school, Cook Children’s urges families to follow these safety guidelines to prevent injuries:

• Always wear a helmet.
• Never be pulled behind any sort of motorized vehicle.
• Do not sled on pool equipment or other non-sleds. These "non-sleds" offer no stability or steering.
• Avoid sledding on city streets or where objects that people can run into are located. 

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