UTMB

Playgrounds are great places for kids to go have fun getting exercise and fresh air. But every year, more than 200,000 kids in the U.S. are treated in emergency rooms for playground-related injuries, many of which were preventable. By checking equipment for potential dangers, following guidelines, and teaching your child the rules of the playground, your child is less likely to get hurt. General playground rules to teach your child are:

• Never push or roughhouse on playground equipment.

• Use the equipment properly – slide feet first, don’t climb on guardrails, don’t stand on swings.

• Do not use equipment if it’s wet.

• In the summer, test to see if the equipment (especially metal slides) are too hot.

• Don’t allow children to wear necklaces, clothing with drawstrings or other items with strings to playgrounds. Necklaces and strings can get caught on playground equipment.

Inspect playgrounds before your child plays on them. Make sure that the equipment is not broken or in need of repair. Check wooden equipment for cracks or splinters and metal equipment for rust. Make sure that hardware on the equipment does not stick out and is secure. Help keep your playgrounds clean and safe by picking up trash and reporting any problems to the organization responsible its maintenance.

Your child should always sit on swings, not stand or kneel, hold tightly when swinging, never sit on a swing with more than one person and wait until the swing completely stops before getting off. Children should also remain a safe distance away when other children are swinging and should be careful not to walk in front or back of moving swings.

When climbing slide ladders, make sure that your child takes only one step at a time while holding onto the handrail. Children should slide while sitting up with their feet first, never head first on their backs or stomachs and more than one child should not go down the slide at a time. Teach your child to check to make sure that there is no one at the bottom of the slide before sliding down.

Seesaws should not be used by preschoolers unless the seesaw has a spring-centering device that will prevent it from crashing to the ground. Children playing on seesaws and merry-go-rounds should always be watched carefully because serious injuries can result if your child falls from either. Children should sit facing one another on seesaws, never backwards and should only ride with children that are close to their weight.

The most important thing to remember about playground safety is that your child should always be supervised by an adult while he or she is playing on the equipment. It is important for an adult (either you or someone that you trust watching your child) to be at the playground because younger children often have difficulty gauging distances and cannot often see that a situation may be dangerous and older children may test their limits on the equipment and end up getting hurt. Adult supervision can help prevent injuries because a grown up can make sure that a child is playing on the equipment properly, be there to help a child that needs help getting on or off of equipment, and administer first aid if necessary.