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<br /> goiWEDNESDAY,JUNE 14,2000 EXPRESS SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
<br /> Communities taking steps to improve playground safety
<br /> SHARI ROAN LOS ANGELES roses The goal of communities should •-
<br /> be to eliminate serious injuries '
<br /> SOME PLAYGROUND HAZARDS PLAYGROUND SAFETY CHECK bb,,
<br /> while recognizing that minor
<br /> The day was filled with ■Surfaces made of concrete,asphalt.hard-packed dirt or grass. accidents will happen when kids •Slides:Should have side guards at the top.
<br /> promise.It was sunny,and our •Metal or wood swing seats. cut loose to play,Owens says.' The slope should be no more than 30 degrees,with a flat,horizon.,
<br /> family was off to the zoo:chil- •Loose,damaged or missing supports,anchors or footings. Even more important than' tel section at the bottom.
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<br /> dren,parents,aunts and uncles, •Splintered or deteriorated wood. equipment design is the play- •Swings:Seats should be placed 24 inches apart and should be at°.;
<br /> grandparents. •Visibly deteriorated or missing surfacing materials. ground's surface.Among the sur- least 30 inches from the side frame.
<br /> But within five minutes of •Loose,damaged or missing nuts and bolts. faces considered safe are rubber •Platforms and railings:Elevated areas,such as platforms and
<br /> arriving,the outing ended abrupt- ■Broken seats. tiles or loose fill such as orone[- ramps,should have guardrails to prevent falls.
<br /> ly,sorrowfully. ■Bent,rusted or warped components. 1y shredded mulch or shredded ■Playground surfaces:Surfaces should be safety-tested rubber or at-,
<br /> My 6-year-old nephew jogged ■Missing protective end caps for bolts or tubes. rujber.In most eases,loose-fill •least 12 inches deep with wood chips,mulch,sand or pea gravel. „so
<br /> over to a small playground,hoist- •Broken,missing or loose steps,rungs,guardrails or handrails. a a u Protective surfacing should extend at least 6 feet in all directions-
<br /> ed himself up on the monkey bars Sources:American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons,Consumer Product Safety es OUCH,Oependmg on the height from play equipment. ,ii.and lost his grip on bars too thick commission. of tee playstructure,Owens sir
<br /> for his small hands.He plunged - Ys. _ Borders around play areas should be rubber rather than concrete q e
<br /> to the ground,landing on a thin PCa,ground owners often make or asphalt. N,.;
<br /> them a of limn a play- Footings should not be exposed. s:'
<br /> layer of wood chips,his forearm 8 -
<br /> SAFETY TIPS FOR THE PLAYGROUND
<br /> ung
<br /> then failing mom- No protrudingbolts or S-hooks.
<br /> badly broken and dangling at his ° i '
<br /> side tFSuch sur aces as sane ■Clearance and spacing:Spaces or openings in structures should P
<br /> How is it that playgrounds, Where injuries war bark romps,for ezalt1 lT needy— measure less man 3t inches or more than 9 inches to avoid an )1
<br /> where children go to revel in all Swings:180,876 tegutar attention. opening that could trap a child's head. 6'r
<br /> their youthful energy,too often Climbing equipment:189,767 You can't build a playground Play structures exceeding heights of 30 inches should be placed :lee
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<br /> become places of sadness for Slides:117.979 today and think it's going to be at least 9 feet apart. 10Pfamilies? Teeter-totters and seesaws:13,167 safe in six weeks,"Hammond ■Access:For disabled children,playgrounds should have a transfer'u''
<br /> Morethan half a million chit- other 67.272 says."It requires daily,weekly udes module or a ramp to provide proper access. le`
<br /> dren are' ured on la and so„ice:a s.consumer Product and monthly inspection and w e_
<br /> nlj p ygro Sahty Cornnriuion;199a tlpraa;gam,au under-
<br /> g5. Playgrounds should have features allowing kids to develop tactile
<br /> each year,acro Daily up trash,rakingnce loose
<br />. • equipmentrdinH ° and auditory skills.
<br /> to the American Academy of
<br /> picking trash, loose-fill :d'.
<br /> Orthopedic Surgeons.Roughly pedic Surgeons has launched a to resemble a ship)and those surfaces to redistribute the mate- sources:American Academy of omncemd surgeons,Consumer Produn safety --
<br /> 150,000 of those injuries are seri- new public service campaign to with access for disabled children rial and wiping off standing Comm,ssmn.
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<br /> ous,and an average ol:lirhll- promote appropriate playground are gaining in popularity. water.
<br /> dren die each year in playground behavior for children and parents. While swings and slides are Bolts should be checked month-
<br /> accidents. Marcia Kerr,a spokeswoman still in demand,carousels and ly and all parts oiled,cleaned and
<br />• Although some injuries are rare for the federal Consumer Prod- whirls have fallen out of favor sterilized,if necessary,annually, How children are hurt.
<br /> and freakish,the majority of the acts Safety Commission,sees a due to high injury rates,says Hammond says.
<br /> mishaps are linked to common "momentum to improve play- Kevin Owens,director of Fun Parents or caregivers can bear •Child falls onto a surface or strikes steps,poles or other equip-
<br /> playground erments:swigs, grounds.”The California law,she New Stuff for Playworld Systems, some of the responsibility for ment
<br /> chmbtnlfngmpment and slides says,has prompted a lot of a leading playground manufactur- playground safety,helping to •Child collides with moving swings,merry-go-rounds or teeter-totters.
<br /> So commonplace are the haz- inquiries from playground owners er in Lewisburg,Pa. keep play areas clean and report- •Drawstrings from hooded sweatshirt catch on a piece of playground-
<br /> ards that a 1998 report by two seeking to comply with the new safety concerns have also ing equipment in disrepair to the equipment and strangle the child.
<br /> consumer advocacy groups Loo- rules. prompted piaa deslivers to appropriate person. •Spring rocker coils can severely pinch a child's hand or foot.
<br /> eluded that the majority of Amer- While playground safety has reduce the of moving_ Playground equipment is only ■Child wearing a bicycle helmet becomes entrapped in an opening,
<br /> ice's public playgrounds pose seri- been a topic of concern for a sin equipment such as one half of the safety equation. such as a horizontal ladder,causing strangulation.
<br /> ous dangers to children. decades,past attempts to sur-g_,Ipemao-m��niisaod-_ Children's behavior and adult ■Child is burned on metal slides that become excessively hot in -
<br /> Despite ample information improve conditions have been c unJtm slS7' horses.But some say that supervision make a difference in warm weather.
<br /> about the elements of safer play- piecemeal,such as a federal regg shorter structures and fewer the injury rate. sources:American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons.Consumer Product Safety`
<br /> grounds,"we haven't seen the ulation that banned unsafe teetpf- mo it ng parts could make play- "A lot of parents think the commission.
<br /> type of improvements we really totters,Hammond says. grounds less inviting to children. playground is an outdoor baby-sit-
<br /> need to reduce injuries,"says Another group that is respond- "I think we have to balance the ter,"Hammond says."Parents
<br /> Darrell Hammond,chief execu- ing to safety concerns is play- pees Tied sof plavmnund with- need to go with their children to
<br /> tive of Kaboom, ground manufacturers.They are mit compromrsins a chitd•s fun," the playground and supervise pult from a swing after reaching According to Hirsch,play-
<br /> a Washington,D.0-based non- introducing new playground stroc- Hamlffdrtn—says. them." maximum height and speed. ground equipment has become
<br /> profit group that promotes play- tures aimed at reducing serious Owens agrees that children In a new media campaign,the much safer.Improvements in
<br /> safety. P gnu "There is a great anal of children's use of the equipment.
<br /> groundinjuries and improving access to won't use a playground if it American Academy of Orthopedic parental responL.sibility thaLJtoes could be the deciding factor to
<br /> Only a handful of states—Cal- all children,including disabled doesn't present some perceived Surgeons urges parents to mon- ui this,"says Dr.Stuart Hirsch,
<br /> iforma,Michigan,New Jersey children. physical challenge. for them kids'playground behav- chairman of the American Acade- reduce the high injury rate.
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<br /> and Texas—have passed com- According to design experts, "In order to meet kids'needs for and warns kids about the haz- my of Orthopedic Surgeons'coon- "I think most parents see a
<br /> prehensive playground safety safe playgrounds today are for taking risks and facing chal- ards of misusing equipment. nil on communications,"Parents playground,and assume safety c
<br /> laws. notably different from the ones lenges,you need to have a cer- The campaign notes that many can see that children are at the a given,"he says."But if we
<br /> Doctors are also playing a role built in the 1970s or earlier.For taro amount of height and the children are tempted to leap off right place at the right time for advocate for safety and raise
<br /> in raising awareness of the issue. example,themed playgrounds illusion of risk,even though there a twirling merry-go-round,go their development,age and level awareness,we can really cut the
<br /> The American Academy of Ortho- (such as a playground constructed isn't really risk,"Owens says. headfirst down the slide or cats- of coordination." number of injuries dramatically.'
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