Is National Playground Safety Week Necessary?
Is a National Playground Safety Week necessary? In a word, yes. While it may seem frivolous to some, a quick glance at some national safety statistics bear out the need for this very important week; a week that highlights keeping our children safe, no matter where they play. Some of those statics include: • Each year, an astounding 205,860 preschool and elementary children receive emergency department care for injuries sustained from, or on, playground equipment. • Twenty-three percent of the above injuries occurred on home playground equipment. The National Program for Playground Safety breaks these numbers down even further. Of all the injuries that involved public equipment: • Forty-five percent occurred in schools • Thirty-one percent in commercial childcare centers. • Three percent of the injuries took place • Three took place at apartment complexes • Two percent occurred at fast food restaurants. The lesson here? It’s clear that this is an important topic, one that parents, child
