Playgrounds should be fun and exciting for children. It is their home away from home, control their own destiny, but it is also a risky endeavor to some degree. Accidents and injuries occur due to faulty equipment, safety hazards, and no supervision. A lot of these things can be fixed if the safety guidelines are followed, but people still avoid them for whatever reason, and its neglect leads to a serious injury and even death. In the summer, when playgrounds are busier and filled with kids, and with the hot sun simmering on a cloudless day, the chances of an accident rises.

Playground safety starts with those who create the slides, swings, ladders, and other structures. They have to be safe and sturdy for kids to use and walk on. Then, it falls onto the people who build it and make a safe layout of the playground. If both things are in line, it is up to the parents and chaperones to make sure that the kids on the playground are not at risk of being hurt. Help children do the right things and not get in trouble or in harm’s way, especially if it involves bad behavior.

This is where the parent has to intervene the most. Children can get hurt if they don’t use the playground properly, like the slide or the turntable. We mentioned the adults not being present, but sometimes, it is the clothing the child wears. Loose clothing getting stuck can also lead to a child getting hurt. That could also be the case of the layout is bad and the faulty construction and preparation is an accident waiting to happen. The same if there is no inspection, the material is wearing down, and the landing surface is hard, not soft.

These are the basic, common mistakes that leads to harm. Let’s dig into stats because they can give us a bigger picture with playground safety:

• Injuries on the playground is the most common cause for children ages 5 to 14; more than half are under the age of 9.
• 53% of playground injuries involve climbing (such as the monkey bars); two-thirds involve the swing.
• 20% of playground deaths involve falls; 56% is caused accidental strangulation.
• 40% of all playground injuries come in the summer, from May to September
• 40% of all playground injuries is, in part, a result of no supervision
• If the height is higher than 1.5 meters, someone is more likely to fall and get hurt by 4 times

On top of that, another 12% of injuries come from the playground’s unsafe surface and any wild insects a child comes in contact with. So, people should be sure everything used is safe and up to date, that parents are watching the kids at all times, that clothing is not so loose, and that the weather is safe for children to play under. Safety comes first and is as essential as anything else for the well-being of a child.