Beware the witches' hat that casts a spell to make kids throw up. (Photo by carlfbagge) If you've ever gone down a super-heated slide in shorts, spun on a witch's hat to the point of inertia-induced vomiting, or been hit in the face with the wrong end of a seesaw (guilty as charged), it may give you some comfort that April 26-30 is Playground Safety Week. Although playgrounds are intended to provide endless hours of childhood entertainment, some are little more than brightly colored death traps. Take the slide at Alamanda Estate Point Cook in Australia. After three children were seriously injured sliding down the massive blue tube, Villawood Properties, the housing estate's developer, hired a guard to monitor the playground until signage could be put in stating the slide's 4'2" minimum height rule. But it's not just super structures that can cause trouble. Recently, a report that studied the difference between fracture rates from playgrounds with sand versus those with wood chips was published in PLoS Medicine. The researchers found that children who fell on sand surfaces were less likely to break bones than those who fell in wood chips. And lest you think that indoor play structures are any safer, in 2005, an 8-year-old boy fell from an enclosed playground at a Burger King and suffered severe brain damage from the impact. However, for all of the dangers that playgrounds pose to children, there's the equally important concern that the pendulum is swinging too far in the opposite direction. Across the United States, jungle gyms, swings, merry-go-rounds, tire swings, and teeter-totters are all being torn down only to be replaced by pre-assembled plastic structures, rubber mats, and non-threatening playground equipment that's safe, sturdy -- and boring. Sure, these newer play structures are less likely to land children in the emergency room, but in protecting them from every scratch and bump they might incur on the playground, do we end up coddling them instead? Indeed, there does seem to be a backlash growing against the sterilization of risk in America's parks and school yards. In Berkeley, CA, kids not only get to climb up colorfully painted forts, crawl through tunnels, and scramble across rope nets at Adventure Playground, they actually get to build the structures themselves. There are several other Adventure Playgrounds in the U.S., as well as parks across Europe and Japan. Perhaps the lesson here is not for children to avoid risk at any cost, but to stay away from playground equipment that looks like this, and to exercise a little common sense. Suggested Sites... The 10 Most Unusual Playgrounds From Around the World - pictures from some of the coolest and most unique playgrounds across the globe. Super Playgrounds - some of the most interesting and expensive playgrounds out there. Find a Playground - locate a playground in your area. Playground Fail - funny pictures of playground sites gone wrong. Dangerous Slides - compilation of funny slide accidents. Watch at your own risk.

Directory categories: Safety, Playgrounds, Outdoors, Playground Equipment, Kid's Sports

Archived under: Big Brother, Celebrations, Children, Childrens Health, Events, Exercise, Games, Health, Kids, Parks, Safety

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