Last winter, more than 35,000 American children ages 14 and under were treated in emergency rooms for sledding and snow tubing injuries.

Almost half that number (16,000) between 15 and 21 were treated for sledding, snow tubing, and snowboarding accidents. Most injuries were bumps, bruises, broken bones, lacerations or punctures (fences, broken tree limbs, etc). But some resulted in death.

As a parent, you might do well to clip this column, discuss it with your children, and post it on the refrigerator. Sledding can be safe fun, but only if you play by safety rules.

Inflatable snow tubes are very fast and not steerable. Sleds with steering mechanisms are safer.

Children under 4 should never be allowed to sled without supervision. Above that age, the steepness of the hill should guide whether children slide alone.

Consider having your child wear a helmet for head protection, much as they would for bicycling, roller skating, or in-line skating. In fact, wearing a helmet while ice skating is a good idea as well.

If your children are sliding at home, make certain they are not sliding toward a well-traveled street. Several deaths are reported each year nationwide when children slide into the path of an oncoming car or plow.

Older sliders, don’t sled alone. Have a partner, so if one of you gets injured, the other can go for help. Never sled after dark or without adequate light.

To avoid spinal injuries and lost teeth, do not attempt jumps that will carry you higher than four feet into the air (on powdery snow) and do not attempt a jump onto packed icy snow.

Dress to keep warm and stay dry, preferably in multiple layers and with special attention to hands and feet. If you start to overheat from activity, do not remove jackets, sweaters, or hats. Hypothermia and frostbite send many sliders to the ER.

Do not drink and sled (a growing problem among teenagers). Drunken sledders are much more likely to injure themselves or others, just like drunk drivers.

COMBAT made a little field trip to the Union Street Hill last Monday and observed four teenagers trying to see how many of them could fit on a flat plastic sled meant for one rider. That in itself wasn’t so bad, but they were plowing through younger children who were coming back up the hill. Not one parent said anything to them (but we did, whether they love us any more or not).

Parents were allowing their smaller children to walk right back up the hill into the path of other sliders, when they should have had their children move quickly to the side of the hill for the return climb.

One parent let her daughter (about 7 or 8) strip to her T-shirt when she became warm. It was only about 10 degrees out with a stiff breeze. Another mother turned her back on the hill and chatted on her cell phone for 10 minutes while her little one (5 or 6) went up and down the hill four times, experiencing two serious near misses by older, faster sledders.

It isn’t all about sledding itself either. One cell phone chatting mother backed away from the snow bank, her rear SUV window covered with snow, directly at three toddlers. That too was a desperately scary near miss.

The best defense for your children is not only being there with them, but paying attention while you are. Why not bring along two sleds, and join them? Who knows … it might be fun!

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual membership $25, business rates start at $125 (0-10 employees). For help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.