A new study, published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, found that 9,400 young children in the U.S. are injured falling off high chairs ever year, reports the Huffington Post.  Alarmingly, despite the fact that products should be expected to get better and safer with technological advances, the injury rate has been rising.  The study also showed that the rate of such injuries increased by 22 percent over the study period, from 2003 through 2010.

Researchers found that the most common type of injury associated with highchair use was a head injury, followed by bumps, bruises, and cuts.  This research was conducted by looking at children ages 3 and younger who were treated in U.S. emergency departments.  For injury-specific trends, the head injury rate seems to have been the largest source of increase.  The rate of head injuries has increased by almost 90 percent between 2003 and 2010.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the cause of the injury is usually a fall and, where the circumstances were known, it was because the child was climbing on or standing on the chair.  Researchers concluded that misuse of the chairs was a major source of concern when it came to pediatric injuries.  Also, highchair product recalls indicate problems with the chairs themselves that make them unsafe.

About 3.5 million chairs have been recalled in recent years for defects, including faulty restraint bars, weak plastic joints that can cause collapse and belts that can’t be tightly secured.  Parents magazine online identifies some of the product recalls, which include major brands such as Target, Ikea, and Fisher-Price.  Recalls are reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  Earlier this year, for example, a BabyHome High Chair was recalled due to a strangulation hazard.  The front opening of the chair was wide enough for a child to slip through and get stuck at the neck, creating a strangulation risk.

Injuries are a major concern at all ages, but young children have to be vigilantly watched and protected because their age makes it difficult for them to protect themselves.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional injuries are the leading causes of death in all age groups from 1 to 44 years of age.  In the young children group, ages 1 to 4, unintentional injuries cause almost three times as many deaths as the next leading cause of death, congenital abnormalities.  In 2010, there were 1,394 deaths as a result of unintentional injuries in this age group.