According
to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there
were nearly 47,000 injuries on home playgrounds to children
under age 15 in the latest year studied. The report also
finds that over a ten-year period, more deaths to children
occurred on backyard playgrounds than on public playgrounds.
Adopt the following safety guidelines with playground equipment
in your home, and also use the following guidelines to inspect
any equipment in your neighborhood or school before your child
plays there:
Cover areas under and
around play equipment with soft materials such as
hardwood chips, mulch, pea gravel and sand
(materials should be nine to 12 inches deep and
extend six feet from all sides of play equipment).
Do not suspend more than
two swing seats in the same section of a swing
support structure.
Check equipment for
signs of deterioration or corrosion, including rust,
chipped paint, splitting or cracked plastic
components or loose splinters.
Avoid putting play equipment close together.
For example, stationary climbing equipment should
have an uncluttered fall zone of at least six feet
in all directions of equipment.
Slides and platforms for climbing equipment should
not exceed heights of six feet for school-age
children or four feet for pre-school children.
Beware of entrapment or
entanglement hazards. A child's head can be
trapped in openings between 3.5 and nine inches
wide.
Avoid elevated
platforms, walkways, or ramps that lack adequate
guardrails or other barriers (to help prevent
children from falling).
Watch for possible
tripping hazards such as rocks and roots.
Clear this debris from your child's play area.
Always supervise
children when they are using playground equipment.
According
to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there
were nearly 47,000 injuries on home playgrounds to children
under age 15 in the latest year studied. The report also
finds that over a ten-year period, more deaths to children
occurred on backyard playgrounds than on public playgrounds.
The
