Unsafe Playgrounds

More than 200,000 children are injured each year on playgrounds, and it is a problem that does not seem to be getting much better, says a Texas A&M University professor who helps set playground safety standards.

Dr. Carl Gabbard, a health and kinesiology professor who specializes in motor development of children and serves as a consultant on the advisory board of the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS), says there are several critical problems nationwide dealing with playgrounds, but little has been done to correct some dangerous situations.

It is for that reason that America's playgrounds have recently received a C-minus grade based on a national survey conducted by the NPPS.

"Playgrounds need to be a challenging yet safe place for children to play, and in many cases, they are not," Gabbard believes.

On average, 17 children die each year from playground injuries and of the 200,000 injuries, 70 percent of those occur in public playgrounds.

Gabbard says the acronym SAFE - which stands for supervision, age-appropriate design, fall surfacing and equipment maintenance - is used by experts to rate playgrounds. The two biggest concerns involve supervision and age-appropriate design, he says.

"For example, very few playgrounds have signs saying that adult supervision should be required, and the NPPS says ever fewer have a posting of rules," he explains.

"Age-appropriate design mean s that ideally, there should be two separate playgrounds - one for kids ages 2-5 and one for ages 6-12. Those are vastly different ages to be using the same kind of equipment," he explains.

He says studies show that falls to a playground surface are the number one contributing factor to all playground injuries. Most playgrounds get a grade of "F" as far as the surface area is concerned, he believes.

He says that one-third of all playground injuries are considered severe, while injuries to the head and face comprise 60 percent of all injuries for children 0-4.

Concerning equipment, swings are injury magnets. Injuries from swings are the most common associated with playground equipment, either from children falling off them or colliding with another child, Gabbard says.

He points out that kids are kids, and injuries on a playground will likely occur at some time. "If a playground is too safe, it's not going to be any fun at all," he says.

"But there's no reason a playground can't be safe and fun. Any time you get kids playing on any type of equipment, there will be injuries. But we need playgrounds that minimize these accidents, and that's where the real problem is."

"The NPPS recommends two separate playground areas, one for kids ages 2-5 and the other for ages 6-12. Because of the added expense, those who build playgrounds don't think it's feasible, and that's why more injuries occur that could be prevented."

Texas A & M University
"America's Playgrounds Unsafe."