Playground safety
Playground safety (WTNH, Sept. 8, 2005 2:35 PM) _ When 2-year-old twins, Michael and Matthew hit the playground, their parents are on vigilant patrol. “We try to be very close to them so we can see if they are in any type of perilous or dangerous situation, we would be there to assist them but yet, we try to give them the freedom so we are not on top of them so that they can play and discover and have fun,” says Kenny Horriwitz, father of twins, Michael and Matthew. by Dr. Mike Rosen According to recent research, thousands of children go to the emergency room each year with playground injuries. “Nationwide there can be 200,000 accidents per year, ranging from mild cuts and scrapes to severe compound fractures that require major surgery to repair,” reports Dr. Stephen Turner, Chief of General Pediatrics at Long Island College Hospital. Look for swings with soft rubber seats. Stay far away from metal or wooden ones, which can accidentally injure children who are walking by. “There should also be soft padding around any type of swing or slides so that if the child fall off or comes down with more force than expected, the landing is impaired,” says Dr. Turner. Don’t let your child on a swing that has s-hooks with space between them. If a credit card fits in the opening, it’s too wide and your child’s clothes could get caught and cause a serious injury. And definitely skip the hooded shirts or jackets…drawstrings can truly be deadly...strangling a child if the strings get caught in the equipment. “Slides...don’t go down the slide with the child. And, certainly, only one child at a time should go down the slide. Things can get caught, clothing, a leg can get caught under a child and that can lead to fractures.” Kenny Horriwitz says sometimes he feels like he needs eyes in the back of his head when he’s trying to monitor his sons’ safety on the playground…and he’d like to see parents paying more watchful attention. “I do see parents at times, drinking coffee, or talking to friends on the bench and an accident can happen in a split second,” says Kenny. As for sand boxes, Dr. Turner says there is always a risk of infection. If your child is not old enough or developmentally mature to know, not to eat the sand or play with foreign objects in the sand, then keep him out of the sand box. Hand washing and sanitizing is a must when your child comes out of the sand box. http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=3824118