Playground Safety
Most
Common Injuries
Each year, thousands of children are injured on playgrounds. Statistics
from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reveal that these injuries
cost the U.S. $9.8 billion in 1999.
The
most common injuries that occur on playgrounds are (in order):
- Injury
from swing
- Injury from climbing equipment
- Injury from slides
- Injury from see-saws and teeter-totters
Tips
for playground safety
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons makes the following recommendations
regarding playground and play area safety:
- Bars
and handrails should be easy to grasp. All stairways should have
rail heights
appropriate for small children.
- Make
sure the see-saws are not overly steep.
- Are
all stairs and steps evenly spaced and smooth?
- Platforms
and raised areas need barriers — 4 feet for older kids
and 30 inches for preschoolers.
- Playground
surface should be soft — no asphalt or concrete areas.
- Check
for gaps between the platform and the top of the slide chute.
- Hangers
at top of swings should be more than 20 inches apart. Swings
should
be 2 feet apart and 30 inches from the support structure. No more
than 2 swing should be placed adjacently in the same section.
- Slides
over 4 feet tall should be 7 to 15 inches off the ground and should
not have an incline greater than 30 degrees. Edges of the slide
exit should be smooth.
- Overhead
rungs need to be less than 12 inches apart for preschoolers and
less than 15 inches apart for older kids. Make sure the rungs are fastened
tightly.
- Make
sure kids have adult supervision at all times.
- Be
aware of the differences in size among children playing together.
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