Preventing Playground Accidents
Posted by admin on January 25, 2010
Kids love playgrounds where they can climb, slide, swing, and have fun. But U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data show that more than 200,000 playground accidents occur annually, with many requiring emergency room treatment for injured children. Safe Kids USA has reported falls are responsible for most non-fatal playground injuries, while the leading cause of death related to playground equipment is strangulation. Playground injuries can occur at home or at a public playground.
The National Program for Playground Safety suggests precautions parents can take to make sure their children are as safe as possible at home and at public playgrounds.
-An adult should supervise all play and assist in emergencies.
-Encourage children to play on equipment designed for their ages.
-Safety-inspect ground surfaces for hardness or hazards such as broken glass or other sharp objects.
-Monitor ladders, steps, platforms, handrails, ropes, barriers, and swings, slides, seesaws, and merry-go-rounds for condition, looking for sharp edges, loose connections, missing parts, and other dangers.
-Report and repair all hazards.
Despite all precautions, child injuries may occur – but parents have legal remedies. A three-year-old in a Headstart program suffered head, neck, and brain damage from a fall off a jungle gym. The child’s parents received a structured settlement after their attorney demonstrated that the preschool operators were negligent for failing to provide adequate adult supervision of children at play.
