Playground Do's & Don'ts

Many children end up in the emergency room each year with playground injuries. Here are some do's and don'ts for them to stay safe.

• Do watch your kids at all times while they are playing.
• Do make sure that there is a six foot border in every direction around stationary equipments, like ladders, to absorb the force of the child's fall.
• Do check on equipments to make sure that it has no missing parts, splintering wood, hanging ropes, protruding or rusted hardware, or peeling paints which could contain lead.
• Do look for swings with soft rubber seats and stay away from wooden or metal ones which can accidentally injure kids who are walking by.
• Do measure spaces between guardrails on all equipments. The gap should be either less than three and a half inches or more than nine inches so that a child's head or neck can't get trapped.
• Do make sure that they washes their hands or uses antibacterial gels or alcohols as soon as you leave the park, and don't allow them to eat there.

• Don't put children on a swing set that has three or more swings in one bay, swings that are less than two feet apart, or swings with less than 30 inches clearance from the swing set's frame.
• Don't put your child on your lap while going down the slide. His/her feet or legs could get caught between your body and the slide.
• Don't let chidren on a swing with S hooks with spaces between them, their clothes could get caught and cause an injury.
• Don't let children play on equipments that is meant for older kids, like the horizontal ladders. If they can't reach the structure by themselves, they shouldn't be using it.
• Don't let children wear a hooded shirt or jacket, because the drawstrings could get caught on equipment and accidentally strangle them.
• Don't let children go barefoot, they could get cut and pick germs.