Home Exercise Machines and Child Safety

More than 25,000 children are injured each year by contact with home exercise equipment. Hand injuries are among the most common, occurring in situations like these:

- An adult is on a treadmill and the child, unnoticed, comes up from behind and injures a hand on the machine’s moving belt.
- The child plays with the pedals and wheels of an unattended stationary bike.
- The child catches his or her hand in the pulleys of a strength-training machine.

Here are some ways to protect children from accidents around exercise machines:

- Choose motorized equipment that has a safety key or switch.
- Keep exercise equipment in a locked room.
- Don’t wear headphones while working out.
- Explain to children that the machines are potentially dangerous and are for adults only.