By age

Different ages, different dangers

A child's risks change faster than almost anything else about them. The baby who can't roll becomes the toddler who reaches the stove, then the teenager whose biggest risks are invisible. Here is each stage: the dangers, why they peak, and what stops them.

9 in 10
Baby injuries at home
3 in 4
Toddler injuries at home
20%
Of hospitalisations: ages 1–4
22%
Of hospitalisations: ages 16–18

Sources: AIHW, Injuries in children and adolescents 2021–22, place of occurrence; hospitalisations by age. The 20% and 22% are shares of child injury hospitalisations.

0–1
Infant

Stillness is the danger. They can't move away from harm

Five risks, where, and the one fix

  1. SuffocationBedroomOn the back, in a cot, on a firm flat mattress. Nothing soft in the cot.
  2. FallsChange table, bed, sofaNever leave a baby up there alone, not even for a second.
  3. Bath drowningBathroomStay within arm's reach. Empty the bath straight after.
  4. ScaldsBathroom, kitchenBath about 38°C. Boiled water scalds for up to 30 minutes, so keep it well away.
  5. Button batteriesLiving roomScrew or tape every battery compartment shut. Lock spares away.
Check your home

Infants can't reposition themselves, call out, or lift their own head from a soft surface. The dangers come to them: bedding, water and gravity.

Why it peaks here

Airways are tiny and easily blocked: babies under 1 are 7.5 times more likely than adults to be hospitalised for choking or suffocation. The head is heavy relative to the body, so a roll off a change table is a head-first fall, and head and neck injuries are 70% of injury hospitalisations in babies under 1. Drowning needs only a few centimetres of water and a moment's absence. And 9 in 10 injuries to babies happen at home.

Sources: AIHW, Injuries in children and adolescents 2021–22. Prevention advice: Red Nose, Royal Life Saving, Product Safety Australia.

1–4
Toddler

Mobile enough to reach danger, too young to judge it

Five risks, where, and the one fix

  1. FallsStairs, bookshelvesGate the stairs. Anchor furniture and TVs to the wall.
  2. PoisoningKitchen, bathroom, handbagsMedicines and chemicals locked up high. Child resistant is not child proof.
  3. DrowningPool, bath, bucketsFour-sided pool fence. Empty every bath, bucket and paddling pool.
  4. Scalds and burnsKitchenHot drinks and cords away from table edges. Cook on the back burners.
  5. Blind cordsBedroom, living roomTie cords up at least 1.6 m off the floor.
Check your home

Ages 1–4 are 20% of child injury hospitalisations (about 17,800 a year), and 3 in 4 of their injuries happen at home. Toddlers can climb, open, pour and wander, but can't yet assess consequences.

Why it peaks here

Curiosity and new mobility outrun understanding. A toddler will drink what looks like cordial, pull a hot drink off a table, climb a bookshelf, or slip into a pool in seconds of quiet. Their skin scalds faster and their airway is still small. Each year about 7,400 children aged 1–4 are hospitalised for falls, 1,185 for poisoning, 979 for burns and 179 after drowning incidents.

Sources: AIHW, Injuries in children and adolescents 2021–22. Prevention advice: Royal Life Saving, NSW Poisons Information Centre, Kidsafe Australia.

5–9
Child

Risk moves outdoors, and the first emotional harms show

Five risks, where, and the one fix

  1. Trampoline fallsBackyardOne child at a time, net up, springs padded.
  2. Bike and scooter crashesDriveway, streetHelmet every ride. Watch them near the driveway.
  3. Dog bitesBackyard, living roomNever leave a young child alone with any dog, even the family one.
  4. Bunk-bed fallsBedroomNo top bunk for children under 9.
  5. Family conflictWhole homeKeep talking. Notice changes in mood or behaviour.
Check your home

The backyard and the street bring trampolines, bikes and the family dog. At school age, the effects of family conflict and early emotional harm start to show.

Why it changes here

Children are more independent and more adventurous, but still overestimate their skill. Trampolines, bikes and the family dog all carry risk, and living with conflict or family violence starts to shape behaviour and mood.

No separate national figures for this age group in our sources. Prevention advice: Kidsafe Australia.

10–14
Pre-teen

The dangers turn inward, and online

Five risks, where, and the one fix

  1. Self-harmBedroom, bathroomAn open, non-judgemental line. Presence beats surveillance.
  2. CyberbullyingWherever the phone isLearn the signs and the eSafety reporting tools together.
  3. Lost sleepBedroomAgree device and sleep rules together. Phones out of bedrooms overnight.
  4. Medicines and alcoholKitchen, bathroomLock them away.
  5. Hidden distressWhole homeWatch for withdrawal or sleep change. Distress often shows before words.
Check your home

This is where intentional self-harm hospitalisations begin to climb: 31 per 100,000 under 15, against 256 per 100,000 at 15–19. The risks are now harder to see: online bullying, social pressure, parental conflict, and the compounding weight of earlier emotional harm.

Why it changes here

Adolescence brings intense social and emotional development, a 24-hour online world, and a widening gap between what a child feels and what they can say. About 1 in 9 teenagers (11%) self-injured in the past year at 16–17, and distress often shows first as withdrawal or sleep change rather than words.

Sources: AIHW, Suicide and self-harm monitoring: young people 2023–24; AIFS, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (2021). Prevention advice: eSafety Commissioner.

15–17
Adolescent

Mental-health risk peaks, and support can vanish at 18

Five risks, where, and the one fix

  1. Self-harmBedroom, bathroomIn low periods, cut access to means: lock medicines away.
  2. Substance useKitchen, home barLock up medicines and alcohol.
  3. SilenceWhole homeMake hard things easy to talk about, with no punishment for telling.
  4. A crisis at nightAnywhereFind youth mental-health and after-hours supports before you need them.
  5. Turning 18 in careLeaving homePlan the move out of care early. Don't wait for the cliff.
Check your home

Self-harm hospitalisation rates are highest at 15–19: 256 per 100,000, about 8 times the rate for under-15s. Girls 15–19: 405 per 100,000, boys 114 (3.5 times). Ages 16–18 are 22% of child injury hospitalisations (about 19,500 a year). Substance experimentation moves into the home. And for young people in out-of-home care, turning 18 can mean the "leaving-care cliff": support removed just when it's most needed.

Why it peaks here

Independence, identity and pressure all intensify, while the brain's risk-and-reward systems are still maturing. About 1 in 9 teenagers (11%) self-injured in the past year at 16–17. Girls: 1 in 4 (26%) by 17; boys 9%. Sexual-assault disclosure also peaks in adolescence, though most of what's disclosed happened years earlier. For care leavers, the loss of structure at 18 compounds every other risk.

Sources: AIHW, Injuries in children and adolescents 2021–22; AIHW, Suicide and self-harm monitoring: young people 2023–24; AIFS, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (2021).

Match the safety steps to your child's age

The storehouse groups checklists by room and by stage, so you can act on exactly the risks that matter right now.

Open the storehouse Back to the danger library