Rubber Recycle in the News

Playground Safety

Playgrounds can be exciting, fun places for children to build dexterity and make friends. However, each year doctors and hospitals treat more than 500,000 injuries related to playground equipment. Climbing equipment is responsible for most of these injuries. Swings, slides and teeter-totters/seesaws are also responsible for many injuries.

In 2002, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons launched "Prevent Injuries America^® to help people avoid playgrounds injuries. It offers these safety guidelines:

• Avoid playgrounds that have concrete, asphalt, hard-packed soil or grass. The surface should be made of wood chips, mulch, or shredded rubber for play equipment up to seven feet high.

• Steer children to age-appropriate playground equipment.

• Check to see that there is enough space for kids to easily get off the slide or merry-go-round. Don't let kids crowd around the exit areas.

• Try the handgrips to verify they are shaped and sized for easy grasp.

• Swing seats should be made of plastic or rubber. Avoid metal or wood.

• Avoid any equipment that has openings that could entrap a child's head.

• Be sure you can clearly see your children on the playground. The kids should have clear, unobstructed views from their height.

• Remove tripping hazards such as exposed concrete footings, tree stumps or rocks.

The two major causes of playground injury are:

• The playground equipment, its condition and upkeep

• Children's behavior on the playground

How are children injured?

• Many children fall off playground equipment and land directly on the surface below.

• On slides or monkey bars, kids who fall may strike equipment (steps, poles, etc.) underneath.

• It only takes a second to collide with a moving swing, merry-go-round or teeter-totter.

• Drawstrings from a hooded sweatshirt can catch on a piece of playground equipment and possibly strangle a child.

• The coils of a spring rocker can severely pinch a child's foot or hand.

What you can do

Give your playground a "Playground Safety Checkup" to ensure it complies with "Prevent Injuries America!"^®

Parents, relatives, teachers, babysitters or anyone who sends or brings children to the playground should periodically inspect the facility for hazards. Report any problems to the proper officials. Don't let your children use that playground until the authorities have completed repairs.

Supervise your children at the playground. Often it is not the equipment that fails. The children's behavior on the playground can also result in serious injury. How kids use the monkey bars, swings, merry-go-round, and slides, and the way they interact with people on the playground also determine whether or not they will get hurt. Because children's imaginations can run wild, kids are at high risk around their peers. Left alone, kids are apt to take chances, too.

Schools and cities should keep playgrounds in good condition by inspecting and maintaining the equipment throughout the year. Heavy rainfall, snow, temperature extremes and high winds can damage playground equipment. So can heavy use. The most popular equipment might wear out quickly. No child should use equipment that does not meet U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines. A copy of the guidelines is available, free of charge, by writing to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207

For more information on "Prevent Injuries America!"^®call the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' public service telephone number 1-800-824-BONES (2663).

December 2004
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