Make sure your trips to the playground are safe ones!

April 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Spring is upon us, and many parents and caregivers are heading to the playgrounds with their small children.  Unfortunately, nearly 40% of all playground-related injuries occur during this time of the year.  Make sure your trips to the playground are safe ones!

It’s unfortunate but true that fatalities do sometimes occur on the playground.  Did you know that most playground fatalities are the result of strangulation on swings, slides, and monkey bars?  Such accidents, plus those that are less severe, are easily avoidable if you follow a few common sense rules.  

First, make sure that playground equipment is in a state of good repair without any loose or broken parts.  

Second, look for playgrounds with adequate ground surfacing, such as shredded rubber, sand or mulch.  

Third, make sure your child is dressed appropriately for play activity.  Every year, almost 250,000 children under the age of 15 are treated for injuries obtained while on the playground, with approximately 75%- 80% of these injuries resulting from falls.  Child safety advocate, Michael Pouls, advises that, “To help prevent trips and falls, children should wear sneakers, not flip flops or sandals.  And very importantly, make sure that all strings from clothing is removed, such as the drawstring in a hoodie, to help avoid injuries from strangulation.  This is important not only when on the playground, but at all times.”  

Fourth, have an adult on site providing supervision without distraction.  Michael Pouls adds, “How many times have we seen adults chatting amongst themselves instead of actively watching their children?  In order to supervise a child, one must not allow him or herself to become distracted by other people or activities.”  Specifically, the caregiver should make sure that children are playing on age-appropriate equipment, are not pushing & shoving other children (or being pushed & shoved themselves), and are playing on the equipment in the manner for which it was intended.  

Please follow these common sense rules to help avoid injuries.  Michael Pouls offers some final words of advice:  “It’s always an excellent idea for all adults and caregivers to become first aide and CPR certified, so that he/she can react swiftly and appropriately should an accident occur!”  

Please visit michaelpouls.info for other child safety tips.