Summer deaths of children double from last year

34 children and teens died this season, National Council for the Child reports.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
The just-ended summer holiday from school was the deadliest in years, with 34 children and teens killed between June 24 and August 31, according to the National Council for the Child.
This represents an increase of more than 100 percent over the 2009 toll, when 16 died.
In 2006, 34 teens and children died during the summer vacation, but that figure had decreased steadily – until this year. More than half of the youngsters who died this past summer were aged 13 to 18. Seven were aged 0 to three, three were four to six years old, six were aged seven to 12, and 18 were 13 to 18.
Road accidents were the leading cause of death among children and youth, at 14, followed by six drownings, four dead in plane crashes, three murders, and one each by electrocution, the swallowing of a battery, suicide, choking, head trauma due to a falling gate, the collapse of a tree and suspicion of negligence.
Dr. Yitzhak Kadman, chairman of the National Council for the Child, expressed great sorrow over the tragic deaths of the children. He said most of the deaths could have been prevented through forethought, effort, awareness and investment in accident prevention.
Parents and the government must provide safe frameworks for children during the summer holiday, he said. Effort must be taken now to prevent the death toll from climbing, and even to reduce it next summer, he added.