An ER doctor says you should think twice before letting your kids do these things

Tens of thousands of kids visit hospital emergency departments each year with head injuries, broken bones and deep cuts, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada and Children First Canada, and the majority of those injuries are preventable.

Pediatric medical experts and children's wellness organizations say there are some simple guidelines parents can follow to help keep their kids out of the emergency department.

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Dr. April Kam is a pediatric emergency room physician and a member of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Injury Prevention Committee.

Her organization maintains a set of guides to keeping kids safe at home and at play, including a list of some high-risk activities to avoid, or to follow important safety guidelines for.

Here are some hazardous activities Dr. Kam and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) say they carry a heightened risk of injury of death for kids.

Being left alone with animals

According to Kam, when children under five are bitten by animals, it's more likely to happen around the head and neck, due to their short stature. Puncture wounds in this area can be especially dangerous.

"They also tend not to be as conscious of the fear of the animal," Kam told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.

For these reasons, the CPS says young kids should never be left alone around animals, even familiar ones, nor should they be allowed to sleep with pets.

"Accidents can happen when children tease pets or touch them in a way that makes them uncomfortable," reads an agency handout about pet safety.

Playing BB guns or air guns

According to the CPD, many non-powder firearms – such as BB and air guns – are almost as powerful as regular firearms.

When a non-powder firearm is fired, the pellets or BBs can break through the skin and cause serious damage inside the body. BB guns and air guns can cause severe eye injury and even death, the agency warns. For this reason, they should never be used as toys.

Playing on trampolines

Kam said kids with trampoline-related injuries are a common sight in the pediatric emergency department.

"Where we see a lot of injuries is when there's more than one child on a trampoline at the same time, when you're doing tricks, like flips and somersaults, or when a young child is with a larger child, or adults jumping at the same time."

In fact, the CPS says trampoline injuries like cuts, bruises, broken bones, head injuries and spinal injuries are on the rise in Canada. They're also most common among children between five and 14 years old.

In this July 31, 2013, photo, Dr. Craig Cook, trauma director at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, points a X-ray in the emergency room, showing a fracture which happened in a jump gym. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The agency says home trampolines are unsafe, even with adult supervision, and that trampoline parks are even more hazardous. Kam can attest to this, too.

"(With) trampoline park injuries, the kids tend to be more likely to be admitted to hospital than with home trampolines," she said. Injuries sustained at trampoline parks often involve lower body sprains and fractures, and can even include open fractures and spinal cord injuries.

For these reasons, the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that parents don't buy trampolines to use at home and consider the risks and dangers before letting kids attend an indoor trampoline park.

Cycling, skiing or skating without a helmet on

Kids should always wear an approved safety helmet for activities where there is a risk of a head injury, such as cycling, skiing, skating, rollerblading or sledding.

Every helmet should have an approved standards label, which certifies that the helmet design has been tested by the manufacturer to protect the head. You can find this label inside or on the helmet.

Some, like bike helmets, are single-impact helmets, which means once they've been in a hard fall, they must be replaced. This also means used bike helmets are not ideal, even if they are more affordable. However, Kam said a used helmet is still probably better than no helmet.

"Theoretically, if you fall once…you're meant to get a new one," Kam said. "So ideally, you're not using a used helmet. But is a used helmet better than no helmet? I mean, I would imagine, yes."

Helmets sold in Canada are certified by CSA Canadian Standards Association, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Snell or the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Riding or operating an ATV

In Canada, nearly 34 per cent of ATV-related deaths are among children and youth under 16 years old, even though they represent a small portion of all ATV drivers or passengers, according to the CPS.

More than 33 per cent of serious injuries requiring hospitalization from ATV crashes are among children under 19 years old. Children under 16 years of old are more likely than adults to suffer a head injury or bone fracture in an ATV mishap.

For these reasons, Kam said she wouldn't allow her kids – who are 11 and 14 years old – to ride one. This is also consistent with the guidelines published by the CPS, which state children and youth younger than 16 years old should not operate ATVs.

"And kids under six shouldn't be a passenger," Kam added.

Swimming unsupervised

Drowning is one of the leading causes of injury-related death among children under five years old in Canada, reports the CPS. Many of these drownings occur in backyard pools without four-sided pool fencing and self-closing, self-latching safety gates, or in a context where supervising adults were distracted.

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The agency says all children should be supervised by an adult when they are in or around water and should never be left alone in a pool or bathtub, even briefly. It's not enough just to have other children around, as they may not recognize the signs of drowning or react quickly enough to get help immediately.

Riding in the front seat before age 13

Although this rule isn't likely to be popular among pre-teens, the CPS says children under 13 are safest in the back seat. In fact, many provinces legally require kids to be at least 13 before they can sit in the front seat. According to KidsHealth.org, laws like these exist to protect kids from airbag-related injuries.

"My oldest just recently is able to sit in the front seat," Kam said, “and they always make fun of having a (pediatric) emergency doc as a mother."

When a child aged 13 or older does sit in the front seat, Transportation Canada says the seat should be moved as far back as possible while leaving enough room for a rear passenger, and that the child should sit up straight against the seat at all times.