Children/Playground/Safety

Well-designed and well-maintained playgrounds may be the safest outdoor areas for young children to play. Yet mishaps occur even here: each year about 200,000 children are seen in American emergency rooms with injuries sustained in playgrounds.

Here’s how to keep your kids safe and healthy while they climb, swing, and seesaw to their heart’s content.

1. Choose playgrounds that are enclosed, have single exits, and have all areas in sight. In modern playgrounds, equipment is generally designed for specific age groups:  infants and toddlers (under 2), preschoolers (2- to 5-year-olds), and school-age (5 to 12-year-olds), and the equipment is segregated to different parts of the playground.

2. Have children use age-appropriate equipment. Equipment intended for older children is hazardous for younger ones. And older children can become entrapped in openings designed for younger children. Older children tend to “roughhouse,” injuring younger ones. Seesaws are not recommended for preschoolers. Seesaws require cooperation between children to prevent injuries. Specific safety information for each type of equipment is available on the web. See below

3. Public playgrounds are generally safer than backyards ones, says the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). Anyone can (and often does) buy and install their own equipment, no expertise necessary. Most public (municipal) playgrounds are designed by professionals with reams of data at hand – on spacing equipment, choosing swing seats, and placing springs under seesaws, for example.

4. Falls are the most common cause of accidents. Kids love being off the ground. But young children lack the necessary judgment and balance to handle heights. Falls cause 70% of all injuries, 80% of serious ones.   Be within arm’s reach when toddlers climb. Toddlers are unpredictable; they may climb ladders, look down, panic, and let go. Don’t push them into activities that frighten them. Better adult supervision would prevent about 40% of playground accidents, says the National Safety Council.

5. Proper ground cover cushions falls. Approved materials include wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel, and certified rubber-type substances, Dirt and grass have little shock-absorbing ability and may become rock-hard with weather. Cushioning surfaces must cover the area where children will fall, at least six feet from equipment. The surfaces should extend even further at the bottom of slides and around swings, the distance determined by the height of the equipment. Only 9 percent of home playgrounds have recommended ground cover, says the CPSC.

6. Dress children for safety. No hooded jackets, scarves or clothing with ties and loose cords; these can be caught in protrusions and hooks in the equipment. No sandals or flip-flops that may cause tripping and also become lodged in equipment.  Tie back long hair and tie shoes securely.

7. No ropes. Many of the rare deaths associated with playgrounds involve young children being strangulated by ropes or rope-like items. Never allow children to tie wagons and large toys to moving equipment or jump rope nearby.

8. No bike helmets. Older children often ride bikes to playgrounds but   should remove the helmets when playing, says CPSC. Helmets may become stuck in openings on equipment, resulting in very serious injuries.

9. No trampolines, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Accidents result from landing on one’s head or neck, attempting stunts, colliding with others, falling off, or landing on frames. Trampolines should be used only in supervised training programs for gymnastics, diving, or other competitive sports.

10. Check playgrounds when traveling. Non-professionally installed equipment is frequently found at small resorts, motels, and at carnivals. Be extra careful overseas. Safety standards are poor in many countries, especially developing countries. And the very places that have poor safety standards lack up-to-date medical facilities, particularly trauma services.