Adding context to the child safety behaviors of parenting teenagers: Implications for injury prevention

Background: Injury is a leading cause of death for children. The purpose of this study was to learn about the child safety behaviors of parenting teens, and the context in which they live, in order to inform injury prevention efforts.

Methods: Phone interviews were conducted with parenting female students recruited from 5 high schools.

Results: Participants (n=58) were 94.8% Hispanic, aged 13 to 19 years (mean=16.79), and had children younger than 2 years. The interview was conducted in Spanish with 22.4% of the participants. Most participants were single (36.2%) or in a serious relationship (31.0%). Most lived with their own family (64.9%). Mean household size was 5.52.

Most reported that their mother is the most helpful to them (50.9%), spends the most time with their children (37.7%), and is the most trusted (74.1%). Their partner was often second in these categories. Most reported that the child's father sees the child at least weekly (67.2%).

About a quarter of the participants bed-share with their child (24.1%). The majority supervised their children around water and used car seats. Their mode of transportation is highly variable. 8.6% reported not always having someone they trust care for their child.

Discussion The small sample size limits our ability to draw conclusions. Interventions with this population should include the child's father and the teen mother's mother. There is a need for education about safe sleeping, and car seat interventions should take into account varied transportation practices. There is a need for further research with this population.