PARENTS haven't fully understood the risks of unintended injuries to children, but education could significantly improve their knowledge about preventing such injuries.

　　Since 2002, SAFE KIDS in China started to provide courses to 500 kindergartens in eight domestic cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Some 100,000 parents have received the training.

　　A recent survey by Fudan University's Public Health College shows that more than 90 per cent of parents trained were clearly aware of unintended injuries while the per centage was only 33 per cent before. And 81.7 per cent knew the danger of putting chemicals into used beverage bottle, doubling the percentage before the training.

　　The number of Chinese children who die in accidental injuries is 2.5 times that of the US. This is the top cause of death among Chinese children under 14 years old - killing about 80,000 children annually.

　　According to another survey conducted in the US, many parents still fail to recognize their child's potential risk of burns and scalds.

　　During a six-year period, more than 17,000 burns to children aged five years and younger were treated in emergency departments across the US, and half occurred when children pulled a pot down from an elevated surface such as a stove or somehow spilled a pot's contents onto themselves. (Star-Agencies)