Dear Editor:
A recent News Tribune article noted that over a two-and-a-half-year period eight Missouri children died as a result of accidental shootings involving unsecured handguns. All us would like to see that number be zero.
I thought it might be interesting to see how many Missouri children die as a result of other causes. According to the 2010 Missouri Child Fatality Review Program (I didn't find a more recent copy online.) In just 2010:
86 children died as a direct result of physical abuse or grossly negligent treatment by a parent or caretaker.
20 children drowned. In 10 of the 18 cases where child supervision was considered a factor, the child had entered the water unattended.
16 children died because someone rolled on them and suffocated them.
10 children died as a result of unintentional poisoning.
15 unrestrained children were motor vehicle fatalities.
Four improperly restrained children were motor vehicle fatalities.
It appears that there are many areas where lack of supervision results in the deaths of Missouri children.