Baltimore not safe for children?
That's according to Men's Health magazine, who ranked Baltimore as the third most unsafe city in the U.S. to raise a child.
My colleague, Andrea Walker, blogs about the ranking at Picture of Health.
The magazine determined its rankings by looking at five factors: accidental death rates, the number of car seat inspection locations per child, sex offenders per capita, the percentage of abused children protected from further abuse, and the strength of bike helmet and child restraint laws.
Baltimore ranked 98th for accidental deaths, 72nd for car-seat inspections, 75th for sex offenders and 73rd for abused children protection. The city received an overall grade of F. The unsafest city was Jacksonville, FL, and the safest was Madison, Wis.
I find rankings of all kinds very subjective, but I'm sure it doesn't help with the city's image.
What do you think? What other factors should be considered?
Comments
Most unsafe?? Seems to be one statistic should be number of children, say, under age 16 killed, period. Accidental death rates only tell part of the story. ... You have kids growing up in unsafe neighborhoods, getting in the drug game, and getting killed by the time they are 15. Those aren't accidental deaths, but they definitely reflect on the safety (or lack thereof) of the city.
Posted by: WildBillFan | August 16, 2010 1:39 PM
The vast majority of children who die in the US are killed in automobile crashes. Most of these crashes happen in the suburbs.
The odds of you child being killed is roughly double if you live in an automobile-dependent suburban area, vs. a pedestrian-friendly urban area built before 1950.
For example the child mortality rate in upstate NY is double the rate in Manhattan island, due to the high percentage of NYC car-free parents.
Posted by: Lee | August 17, 2010 9:15 AM
It’s a sad commentary that Baltimore rated so poorly on these indicators. Clearly there is a great need to reduce the rate of accidental death among Baltimore children. The good news is that many unintentional child injuries are preventable through the use of existing safety products – the challenge is making sure everyone who needs things like a car seat or bike helmet has access to one. That is the goal of our Safety Center programs. In a unique partnership with the Baltimore City Fire Department, the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy operates the CARES Mobile Safety Center, which travels throughout the City bringing lifesaving safety products and entertaining educational exhibits to community events, schools and neighborhoods. To request the safety center for an event, call (410) 955-4121. The Johns Hopkins Hospital also has a Children’s Safety Center that is open to anyone who needs child safety education and products. It is open M-F 11:00-4:30. Car seat installations or inspections are available for a nominal fee. Please call (410) 614-5587 to talk to a safety educator.
Posted by: Eileen McDonald | August 22, 2010 1:03 PM