InTouch & Informed Blog

Home Playground Safety Checklist

Nothing soothes a parent more than the sweet sound of children swinging, sliding, giggling, and having fun in the backyard.  In fact, you may finally get time to relax with that book you’ve been wanting to read, drink some ice-cold lemonade, and put your feet up for a bit…FLASH FORWARD SIX HOURS…your daughter is finally discharged from the hospital’s Emergency Department with a fractured wrist on her right arm.   

Accident Statistics on Home Playground Equipment:

• Each year, more than 200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries associated with playground equipment.

• Most injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground.

• Many backyard play sets are placed on dirt or grass, surfaces that do not adequately protect children when they fall.  Only 9 percent of home playgrounds have protective, shock-absorbing surfacing to adequately protect children from serious head injuries.

• Almost 40 percent of preschool children (younger than age 5) are injured on playground equipment on home playgrounds, as compared with about 27 percent on public playgrounds.

• Lack of proper supervision accounts for about 40 percent of playground injuries.

• Almost three-fourths of the deaths in home locations resulted from hangings from ropes, cords, homemade rope swings, and other similar items.

• More playground deaths occur at home than in public parks!

Judging from those statistics, you may be counting your daughter “lucky” to sustain only a fracture.  So, was this just an unlucky accident, or something that could have been prevented?

When physicians at ten of the nation's leading children's hospitals were asked to share the single piece of advice that could prevent a trip to the E.R., here's what they said:

1. JUST SAY NO TO TRAMPOLINES

Trampoline-related injuries are responsible for as many as 92,000 emergency-room visits annually.

Doctors’ Orders:  These kids have fractures, spinal injuries, and sometimes serious head injuries.  Most injuries occur not because kids fly off the trampoline, but because another child lands on them, or they do something inappropriate, such as riding a bike on the trampoline.  If you do have a trampoline, only one person at a time should be on it – with supervision.  As more people get on, the risk of injury increases exponentially.  

 Trampolines are largely unregulated, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against their use at home, in gym classes, and on playgrounds.

2. KEEP YOUR PLAYGROUND SAFE

Falls account for 90 percent of the most severe equipment-related playground injuries (mostly head injuries and bone fractures).  

Doctors’ Orders:  The most common injuries are broken arms, elbows, and clavicles – almost all of which are preventable if playgrounds are properly designed and kids are supervised.  Make sure children play on age-appropriate equipment.

The other big problem is poor playground maintenance.  To determine if your playground is safe, check the material under it to make sure it can absorb shock.

Safety Checklist:  Make Sure Your Home Playground is a Safe Place to Play

To help prevent injuries from falls and other hazards on home playgrounds, the following safety tips are recommended:

• Install and maintain a shock-absorbing surface around the play equipment.
• Use at least 9 inches of wood chips, mulch, or shredded rubber for play equipment up to 7 feet high.  If sand or pea gravel is used, install at least a 9-inch layer for play equipment up to 5 feet high.  Or, use surfacing mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
• Install protective surfacing at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
• Never attach–or allow children to attach–ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, or pet leashes to play equipment; children can strangle on these.
• Check for hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends, which can be hazardous.
• Check for spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs; these spaces should measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
• Make sure platforms and ramps have guardrails to prevent falls.
• Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
• Remove tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks.
• Regularly check play equipment and surfacing to make sure both are in good condition.
• Carefully supervise children on play equipment to make sure they are safe.