By Nicolas Breedloves
Children love playgrounds. They like to run around have fun with the various equipment as well as make new friends there. Ironically, the place that brings such happiness to kids is also responsible for the highest number of kids' injuries.
Center for Disease and Prevention has revealed that a total of 156,000 children reach hospital emergency rooms to be treated for injuries suffered on public playgrounds. This is the yearly figure of under age 14 children that are hurt all across the United States while playing in playgrounds.
Now, there are different types of playground injuries. A child can suffer from cuts, bumps, bruises, fractures, concussions and even life-threatening injuries like strangulation. The Center for Disease and Prevention quotes that of the total injuries, approximately 45% are severe. By severe injuries we are referring to:
* Amputations
* Concussions
* Dislocations
* Fractures
* Internal injuries
Majority of these injuries are caused due to accidents on the playground equipment like swings and slides. Children can fall or slip from playground equipment, lose their grip or their balance when they are playing on bars, swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, and seesaws. Slides are the leading cause of accidents as many times the child's leg gets stuck and can get twisted. Children also get hit from equipment that other kids are playing on. For instance they may walk in line of another child swinging. Or another child may push them in a fight and they may fall against any equipment's edge and get hurt.
Now that you know how a child may get hurt on a playground, let us throw some light on how to prevent playground injuries. Here are the major potential play area hazards to keep a watch on:
Install the right equipment - By right equipment, we mean that the equipment must be age appropriate and of good quality ensuring child safety. The playground must have different equipment for the various ages. This way the younger 6 year old will not get hurt on a monkey bar made for 12 year olds. The equipment has to be according to age and skill level. The equipment must be manufactured to meet the standard quality and durability standards. It must be safe with no corners, edges, screws, or catches to hurt children, or where the kids' clothing might get stuck.
Ensure that the playground has safe surfaces- You must never have hard and unsafe surface like asphalt, concrete; dirt and grass below various playground equipment. These hard surfaces will not cushion the kids' falls and they will hurt themselves badly. So you must have surfaces such as pea gravel, sand, wood chips or rubber mulch installed in the playground. These surfaces are soft yet sturdy and absorb the impact of a child's fall, so that there are lesser chances of an injury.
Always perform regular playground maintenance - Get rid of broken or weakened equipment as it is a source of potential disaster. So say no to broken swing seats or teeter-totters. Always buy playgrounds for sale from reputed manufacturers for long lasting and durable playgrounds.
Teach kids to protect themselves- You must tell children they must not push, shove or fight on any playground equipment. Most importantly tell them to dress up in clothes without hoods, strings (to avoid choking), and wear rubber soled shoes. Last but not the least teach them to never come in the way of a moving swing.
Children love playgrounds. They like to run around have fun with the various equipment as well as make new friends there. Ironically, the place that brings such happiness to kids is also responsible for the highest number of kids' injuries.
Center for Disease and Prevention has revealed that a total of 156,000 children reach hospital emergency rooms to be treated for injuries suffered on public playgrounds. This is the yearly figure of under age 14 children that are hurt all across the United States while playing in playgrounds.
Now, there are different types of playground injuries. A child can suffer from cuts, bumps, bruises, fractures, concussions and even life-threatening injuries like strangulation. The Center for Disease and Prevention quotes that of the total injuries, approximately 45% are severe. By severe injuries we are referring to:
* Amputations
* Concussions
* Dislocations
* Fractures
* Internal injuries
Majority of these injuries are caused due to accidents on the playground equipment like swings and slides. Children can fall or slip from playground equipment, lose their grip or their balance when they are playing on bars, swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, and seesaws. Slides are the leading cause of accidents as many times the child's leg gets stuck and can get twisted. Children also get hit from equipment that other kids are playing on. For instance they may walk in line of another child swinging. Or another child may push them in a fight and they may fall against any equipment's edge and get hurt.
Now that you know how a child may get hurt on a playground, let us throw some light on how to prevent playground injuries. Here are the major potential play area hazards to keep a watch on:
Install the right equipment - By right equipment, we mean that the equipment must be age appropriate and of good quality ensuring child safety. The playground must have different equipment for the various ages. This way the younger 6 year old will not get hurt on a monkey bar made for 12 year olds. The equipment has to be according to age and skill level. The equipment must be manufactured to meet the standard quality and durability standards. It must be safe with no corners, edges, screws, or catches to hurt children, or where the kids' clothing might get stuck.
Ensure that the playground has safe surfaces- You must never have hard and unsafe surface like asphalt, concrete; dirt and grass below various playground equipment. These hard surfaces will not cushion the kids' falls and they will hurt themselves badly. So you must have surfaces such as pea gravel, sand, wood chips or rubber mulch installed in the playground. These surfaces are soft yet sturdy and absorb the impact of a child's fall, so that there are lesser chances of an injury.
Always perform regular playground maintenance - Get rid of broken or weakened equipment as it is a source of potential disaster. So say no to broken swing seats or teeter-totters. Always buy playgrounds for sale from reputed manufacturers for long lasting and durable playgrounds.
Teach kids to protect themselves- You must tell children they must not push, shove or fight on any playground equipment. Most importantly tell them to dress up in clothes without hoods, strings (to avoid choking), and wear rubber soled shoes. Last but not the least teach them to never come in the way of a moving swing.
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