Factors Related To Playground Injuries

Playgrounds are the great source of fun, but they also cause several unintentional injuries to kids

. Why do children get injured in playgrounds? There may be several answers to this question based on the situation and the nature of play. However, there are four common factors which contribute to playground injuries. Read this article to know them.

It's truly said that Health is Wealth. But health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, it's a complete well-being of man's physical, mental and social status. When it comes to the kids, play is an essential component to keep them healthy. Playgrounds provide them opportunities to develop their physical and intellectual abilities, and learn several social and emotional skills. In fact, playgrounds are the places where kids explore experiences that are out of ordinary. However, they are often the sites of involuntary injuries to kids. Playing in the ground, children meet various injuries, some of them are serious too. It's therefore needed to establish a framework or conceptual model that could assist us visualize the play environment, factors that contribute to playground injuries, and the preventive steps.

If you ask 10 people why kids get injured while playing in the ground, you may get 10 different answers. They will tell you stories on how someone they know meet injury on playground. But from all those answers, you will notice four common factors lack of supervision, age-inappropriate play equipment, unsafe surfacing and lack of proper maintenance, which are responsible for playground injuries. Let us have a close look at these factors.

Supervision: It's always necessary to supervise children when they are playing in the ground. Sometimes kids do things like pushing, shoving and inappropriate use of play-equipment to get more fun, and this results in causes them get injured. Thus, they must be provided proper supervision to avoid playground injuries. It can be more helpful if you maintain a separate play area for kids under the age of 5 years.

Age-appropriate Play-equipment: It's another important factor that should be considered when it comes to create a safe play environment. When selecting playground equipment, one must take the age of kids in account. Size and design of equipment should be safe enough to prevent the injuries. Height of equipment should be in proportion to the height of kids who are likely to play with them.

Safe Playground Surface: It may be surprising but true that virtually 75% serious and fatal injuries involve fall. Playing with slides, swings, and other climbing equipment, children usually fall down. If the playground is not equipped with appropriate surfacing, children are more likely to get serious injuries. Thus, it's most important to have a safe playground surface to reduce the effect of falls. There are several materials which can be used for playground surfacing. They include pea gravel, wood chip, bark mulch and rubber mulch. However, rubber mulch is considered to be the best among them. It is non-staining, odor free and non-toxic, and is quite effective in reducing the injuries caused by falls.

Proper Maintenance: Though you have installed age-appropriate and safe playground surfacing, periodic maintenance of both the playground and play-equipment is quintessential. You should check the equipment if they have any sharp or cutting edge. If so, then cover them with suitable material. You should regularly check the surfacing material too, if it's able to reduce playground injuries. In this way, considering all these factors, you can reduce the injuries in outdoor playgrounds.

by: Nicolas Breedlove

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