With Some Basic Tips Playgrounds Can Be a Walk in the Park

Now that spring has finally arrived, parks and playgrounds will be bustling with children making it a perfect time to focus on children’s outdoor play.  

Playground safety is important, yet often overlooked.  The most common playground injuries are falls, accounting for more than 75% of all playground injuries. Lack of supervision accounts for nearly half of all injuries according to Nicole Vesely, Safe Kids coordinator at American Family Children’s Hospital.  Vesely said that more than 270,000 kids each year are treated in emergency rooms because of injuries on the playground. Seventy-five percent of the injuries are from falls that cause concussions, broken bones and internal injuries. Most playground fatalities are from strangulation.

Kids are going to slip, fall, and tumble; they will get cuts and scrapes.  It is just part of being a kid. But there are little things parents can all do to ensure that kids avoid serious injuries and even death.  

Playground Safety Week (April 21-25, 2014), is a great way to encourage parents to take an active role in learning more about playground safety.  Here are four basic playground tips from safekids.org:

Actively supervise children on playgrounds.

Take your kids to playgrounds with shock-absorbing surfaces such as rubber, synthetic turf, sand, pea gravel, wood chips or mulch.  The protective surfacing should extend at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment.  Additionally, check that playgrounds are inspected and maintained. Report any hazards immediately to the organization responsible (school, city, etc.).

Dress appropriately. Remove necklaces, purses, scarves or clothing with drawstrings that can get caught on equipment and pose a strangulation hazard. Even helmets can be dangerous on a playground. 

It is important to make sure children always follow safe playground practices.  Teach children that pushing, shoving or crowding while on the playground can be dangerous. 

Playgrounds don't become safer all by themselves.  Prevention is the key to keeping children safe.  The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) hopes that National Playground Safety Week will be a time for everyone to focus on safety and injury prevention on playgrounds. Visit the NPPS web site at http://playgroundsafety.org/safe to learn more about playground safety.

Lawsuit Financial hopes each one of its readers will help in making America's playgrounds safe!

Mark Bello has thirty-seven years experience as a trial lawyer and fifteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Member of Public Justice, Public Citizen, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.