Playgrounds need to be safe to reduce childhood injuries
October 6, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Playgrounds are a great way for children to enjoy being outside and playing with others – but they also have dangers, some hidden and some not so hidden. My daughter broke her arm when she was 5 years old when she fell of some monkey bars. My husband was right there – but it happened too quickly to stop it. So, obviously, accidents will happen. But if we try to minimize them as much as possible, fewer kids will get hurt and fewer parents will be stressed.
According to a news release issued byCDC’s Injury Control Research Centers, National Study Evaluates Playground Equipment-Related Injuries, “more than 213,000 children under 18 years of age are treated each year in hospital emergency departments in the United States for playground-related injuries.”
Other study findings included:
- Injuries occurred most frequently on climbers (36%), followed by swings (30%) and slides (20%).
- The majority of injuries occurred to children between 5 and 12 years of age and injuries occurred equally among boys and girls.
- The most commonly injured body parts were the upper extremities – which included the upper and lower arm, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand and fingers (45%), followed by the head (15%) and face (13%).
- The most common types of injuries included fractures (35%), bruises (20%), cuts (20%) and sprains and strains (11%) with more than three-fourths of these injuries occurring as the result of a fall.
The Center for Injury Research and Policy recommends the following:
- Make sure there is a shock-absorbing surface under and around the play equipment.
- Remove or close open “S” hooks that could cause an injury.
- Check for spaces where children can get their head caught.
- Make sure platforms and ramps have guardrails for barriers.
- Remove any trip hazards.
- Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, or pet leashes to playground equipment.
- Have children remove their bike helmets before entering the playground. Strangulation can occur if either the straps or the helmet gets caught on playground equipment while the child is wearing the helmet.
As I said, we can’t prevent all accidents – too bad we can’t!
~~~
Image: MorgueFile.com
Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, playground injuries, playground accidents, broken arm
