According to the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS), a nonprofit organization that funds efforts to reduce playground injuries, more than 200,000 preschool and elementary aged children are injured on playgrounds every year to the extent that they require hospital care.
What’s more, while many of us assume that such dangers lurk only on public playgrounds, the reality is that private playgrounds – the ones in our own backyards – also pose a hazard and, consequently, potential legal liability. In fact, at least 19% of playground injuries occur on home playground equipment.
However, with just a bit more awareness and increased diligence, we can ensure that our children get the most out of their playtime and that we aren’t unwittingly placing ourselves in legal jeopardy.
NPPS recommends using the acronym S.A.F.E. to guide us in our playground safety mission.
Supervise: Children should never be left alone while playing on playground equipment. Parents who supervise are able to better assess situations that children can’t and are consequently able to prevent injuries.
Age-Appropriate: Consider the level of difficulty in maneuvering the playground your child is using. Are the tasks and movements those that your child is capable of mastering? Taking kids to age-appropriate play sets drastically reduce the likelihood of injury.
Fall Surface: A vast majority of playground injuries result directly from falls. As a result, playground owners should always use a fall surface material that takes into account equipment height, durability, surface depth, and American Society for Testing & Materials standards. Recommended materials include shredded rubber, sand, pea gravel, and hardwood fiber.
Equipment Maintenance: Playgrounds that are kept free of splinters, rust, cracks, structural weaknesses, and openings in which children could become stuck are much safer for children to play on. Maintenance should be a routine endeavor. If a play set is visibly deteriorated, don’t go near it!
By following these basic guidelines, we can reduce the number of annual injuries our children sustain from playgrounds. After all, many of such unfortunate incidents are completely preventable. What’s more, by applying such recommendations to the play sets in our own backyards, we can minimize our liability and keep our personal assets out of jeopardy.
Author: Paul B. Harding; Martin, Harding & Mazzotti LLP ®