as a public forum wherein the international community is encouraged to increase awareness of and stimulate community participation in activities centred around health issues.

Thus Bermuda will join millions of others in thinking about this year's theme: "Handle life with care -- prevent violence and negligence''.

While this theme covers a broad range of circumstances, the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Housing is particularly anxious to focus on the prevention of injury and violence to children, which fits in nicely with the World Health Organisation's finding that children and adolescents are most at risk as victims of injury and violence.

According to the Ministry's Health Co-ordinator, Mrs. Ivena Laurenceo, just as there are many circumstances which lead to violence and injury to children, so also is there much which can be done to prevent or reduce such occurrences.

"Children come into this world fearless. They have no concept of danger so parents really need to be alert,'' she warned.

The most important thing is to teach children to recognise and cope with dangers around them -- not just by telling them to be careful, but also by setting an example.

Creating a safe environment in the home is the way to begin. Since homes are designed by adults for adults, with the special needs of children often forgotten, it is important to think especially about children's safety. Here are some examples: Scalds: Keep kettles and their cords as well as teapots out of children's reach, and well away from the edges of tables and worktops. Hot water can scald up to 30 minutes after it has boiled. Don't keep a kettle or pot simmering -- steam can scald badly. Don't carry or drink hot drinks in the vicinity of a child. Always put cold water in the bath first before adding hot water, and test the temperature before putting a child in the tub.

Burns: Keep children away from hot irons, toasters and room heaters. Don't let their cords dangle. Use special fire guards in front of fireplaces. Buy children's night attire, including dressing gowns, in flameproof materials (synthetics are best).

Stoves: Turn pot/pan handles away from the edges of a stove. Keep children away from hot ovens, burners and stove plates, and don't leave the latter on with nothing on them.

Medication: Keep all medicines out of reach, and locked in a cupboard. Don't leave even one bottle out for convenience. Remind grandparents to do the same when children visit. Ask the pharmacist for child-proof caps when collecting prescriptions.

Household/garden chemicals: Stow in a safe place, preferably in a locked cupboard. Remember, children climb up where you never thought they could reach.

Windows, balconies, stairs, garden walls, ladders: Fit safety catches on upstairs windows. Adapt windows so they can't be opened too wide if an adult is not in the room. Fit child-proof locks to upstairs balcony doors and screens. Clear balconies of anything a child can use to climb up on. Fit safety screening to balcony railings which can easily be climbed -- e.g. those with horizontal designs. Fit safety gates to stairs. Don't leave ladders around. Don't let children climb on garden walls.

Choking, Suffocation: Keep blind/curtain cords out of a child's reach. Don't give babies pillows. Make sure babies can't snuggle down too far inside a quilted sleeping bag. A pacifier on a long string or ribbon can get caught and strangle a baby. Beware of open-weave garments which can catch on parts of a stroller or cot and pull tight around a baby's neck. Keep small things like buttons, coins, tiny toys, and toys with loose parts like glass eyes, away from small children. Don't give peanuts to small children, they're a common cause of choking. Never leave a baby alone when feeding. They can easily choke on a propped up bottle.

Falls: Don't leave babies unattended on beds, sofas, chairs, tables or worktops. Don't put a baby in a bouncing cradle on a table or worktop.

Cuts: Don't let small children walk around holding anything made of glass. Fit safety glass or safety film to ordinary glass on sliding glass doors and French windows. Ask the optician for splinter-proof or plastic lenses if your child wears glasses.

Sharp objects: Keep tools, scissors, letter openers, knives and such like out of the reach of small children. Examine all toys for sharp edges. Don't let children run around with pencils, lollipop or popsicle sticks in their mouths.

Accidents: Don't let small children climb or use playground equipment unsupervised. Don't let children ride tricycles or bicycles unsupervised.

Teach all children road safety, both as pedestrians and cycle riders. Don't let children use skate boards, roller blades or skates on public footpaths or roadways.

Drowning: Never leave a child unattended in a bath or swimming pool, not even for a second. Keep water tank tops locked at all times. Don't let children play with water unsupervised.

Electrical outlets: Teach your children not to insert objects into electrical sockets or plugs.

In the older age group, the Ministry is particularly concerned about the number of Bermuda's young who are injured or killed in traffic accidents.

"There is a need to impress on teenagers specifically the need to handle their lives with care because many of the injuries which befall our youth can be prevented,'' Mrs. Laurenceo said.

"Parental guidance while children are members of the household is important,'' the Health Co-ordinator explained. "We all need to cherish our children and teens so that they, in turn, will cherish their children in the years to come.'' Parents must be good role models for their offspring, and keep the lines of communication open at all times. They must also take an active role in raising their children, and not shrink from what the youngsters might call "nagging''.

"Although it might appear that teens are growing up and should be allowed to make their own decisions about life, it is imperative that parents continue to provide young people with guidelines and codes of conduct. Teens might not want to follow them, but this is the time when they are desperately in need of rules and regulations,'' Mrs. Laurenceo said. "If they don't get these they will seek them elsewhere from peers outside the home. Parents should not give up on their children. Their lives are too precious to waste.

"Although parents might appear to be a constant nag to their teens, that is okay. It is when parents stop nagging that teens feel abandoned and resort to outside influences for guidance on how to conduct themselves.

"Schools can only reinforce what children learn at home, for the home is far more important than any school. Values learned in the home are internalised and become part of the individual throughout life.'' In terms of lifestyle, teens must be taught that substance abuse and sexual promiscuity are not acceptable forms of behaviour, and can be life-threatening.

"If more parents instilled values of discretion and abstinence in relation to tobacco, alcohol and other drug use, as well as abstinence instead of sexuality, these would become normal rather than extraordinary behaviour for teens,'' Mrs. Laurenceo stressed.

"Then it would be `cool' to postpone sexual experience, not to smoke or use alcohol or other drugs, and to ride bikes with care.

"It would be `cool' to exercise caution with the precious lives which God has given to us.'' THINK SAFETY -- This illustration offers eleven tips on how to make your home a safer place for young children.