Mind games: how to safely spend spring break for schoolchildren
During spring break, students are more likely to be seriously injured than during the periods when they study. While 58% of children's injuries are domestic during normal school hours, the situation changes during the holidays, and more than half are sports injuries sustained during mass games, cycling and scooters. And 84% of them are fractures. The most traumatic age is 10-12 years old. And regular conversations about safety can reduce the risk of injury, psychologists say: every parent is obliged to explain to the child how to walk outside, why it is forbidden to climb into abandoned buildings and go out on the ice.
What kind of injuries do schoolchildren get?
Sports injuries are among the most common that schoolchildren receive during the holidays, the press service of the insurance company "Consent" told Izvestia. They account for 53% of all insured events, and 84% of them are fractures, often severe. For comparison, during the school period, the majority of injuries are domestic (58%).
— During the holidays, children ride bicycles, roller skates, and play soccer more often, and any fall is highly likely to turn into a serious injury rather than a bruise, — said Lyudmila Strakhova, deputy director of the Department of personal injury settlement at the company "Consent".
During the holidays, sports are more often free games, where the level of training and intensity may be lower, but due to the mass nature of such activities, the total number of injuries increases. Boys are injured two to three times more often than girls.
The most traumatic age for children is 10-12 years old, Polina Grigorieva, head of the Department of Personal insurance payments at Rosgosstrakh, told Izvestia. She also confirmed that the most common insurance claims with minors are various injuries during sports and active games.
In winter, injuries are usually recorded when riding downhill on cheesecakes, sleds and skis. In the spring, there are falls from bicycles, scooters, injuries sustained while playing football and other activities.
— The most common injury is limb fractures. Bruises are in second place. Sprains, dislocations, ligament and tendon injuries, burns, and concussions are much less common,— said Polina Grigorieva.
In everyday life, schoolchildren are injured in completely harmless situations, she noted. So, they break their fingers by unsuccessfully closing doors or windows, and their toes after hitting furniture hard.
Ingosstrakh also records the largest number of injuries that were sustained during sports and during games on playgrounds, Dmitry Krenev, deputy director of the retail Business Loss Settlement department, told Izvestia. So, last spring, a boy fell while playing "Crocodile" and suffered a fracture of his left humerus, while another did not notice the horizontal bar, crashed into it and broke his nose.
According to the expert, there are also domestic injuries. For example, a schoolgirl hit the table with her hand and broke her finger. Another stepped on a kitchen knife, falling off a chair, and cut her foot.
— It is important for parents to explain to their children how to use sports equipment correctly, monitor their surroundings and avoid dangerous situations. Regular conversations about safety will help them become more attentive and responsible," Dmitry Krenev said.
One of the most serious threats in spring is thin ice on reservoirs, said Elena Kosheleva, Director of Sberbank Insurance projects.
For example, in March 2026, when there was already thin ice on the rivers, three school friends drowned in Zvenigorod near Moscow. Two boys and a girl went for a walk by the river in the evening and disappeared. According to investigators, they approached the edge of the river's ice sheet, which could not withstand their weight and broke, and the students ended up in cold water. On March 25, a seven-year-old boy fell through the ice in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. He went cycling with a friend. They reached the river, threw stones into the water, and then went out onto the ice. Only one student managed to escape.
Children can also get into accidents involving electric scooters, as this type of transport opens its season in the spring.
How to keep children safe
— Children are more inquisitive than adults, and they still do not know how to assess the health risks of a particular situation. And holidays are a time when they walk more and spend more time at home," Elizaveta Petrova—Kolosova, a pediatrician at the Be Healthy Children's clinic, told Izvestia.
According to her, every parent is obliged to explain to the child how to walk on the street, how to cross the road, how to use household electrical appliances, why it is forbidden to climb into abandoned buildings, go out on ice and perform other dangerous actions.
— In case of sports injuries, equipment, special equipment and places for sports activities will help to protect the child. If a child is fond of football, then, in addition to a T-shirt with the name of his favorite player, he should have cleats and foot protection. And for cycling, you must have a helmet and clothes with reflective elements," explained Elizaveta Petrova-Kolosova.
To protect the child's stay in the house, it is necessary to remove all faulty electrical appliances and discuss in advance what can and cannot be used. It is important to create a safe environment. This applies to physical activity, handling household chemicals, Internet use, and fire safety.
Why do schoolchildren take risks?
With an increase in free time, children have the opportunity to realize their ideas and fantasies, as a result of which they do not compare risks during the holidays and get into difficult situations, forgetting about safety measures, Natalia Naumova, a child psychologist, told Izvestia.
— It is important for parents to talk with their child every day, to learn about his plans, intentions, ideas. Not to scold, not to punish, but to help him realize that some ideas are risky and can be dangerous," she said. — Injuries are usually associated with the fact that the child forgets to take care of his safety.
In addition, it is worth organizing the child's leisure time even during the holidays, the psychologist advised. Parents also need to keep track of who he's walking with and what ideas this company has.
— Sometimes it is important for a child to show his friends, especially new ones, his bravery, courage, bravery. And often, even realizing that it is risky and dangerous, he can take this step," Natalia Naumova said.
Vacations are also a period when schoolchildren dramatically release the tension accumulated during their studies, psychologist Tatiana Pryakhina, a specialist in the psychological platform Alter, told Izvestia.
"Teenagers have not yet fully formed the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for impulse control and predicting consequences, while hormones — adrenaline and testosterone — push them to seek thrills," she said. — "Abandonment" and extreme games are a way to prove to yourself and your peers your maturity, courage and autonomy, especially if the child was strictly regulated during school hours.
According to her, parents can also legalize a child's need for risk by giving him rock climbing, cycling and hiking lessons, where adrenaline is dosed and safe.
From the age of seven or eight, a child can already be left alone at home, but only if he is calm and knows the numbers of parents and emergency services, Tatiana Pryakhina added. Independent walks are allowed from the age of 10-12, but only if the student shows responsibility and knows the area.
Before allowing a child to walk on their own, it is important to explain the cause-and—effect relationships: for example, "If you climb on this roof, the edge may collapse because no one is watching it," the expert added.
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