How are children injured on playgrounds?
Many children fall off playground equipment and land directly on the surface below. On slides or monkey bars, kids who fall may strike equipment (steps, poles, etc.) underneath. It only takes a second to collide with a moving swing, merry-go-round or teeter-totter. Drawstrings from a hooded sweatshirt can catch on a piece of playground equipment and strangle the child. The coils of a spring rocker can severely pinch a child’s foot or hand. Q: What are the recommended surfaces for playgrounds? A: The safest playground surfaces consist of shock absorbing unitary materials, such as rubber mats, or loose fill such as double-shredded bark mulch, engineered wood fibers, sand and fine or medium gravel of suitable depth. Playgrounds with hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt, grass or dirt are not recommended. When lots of children play on grass for a long time, it dies and the surface becomes hard. Even a soft dirt surface, over time and excessive use, becomes hard packed. Q: What features con
