{"id":4416,"date":"2018-10-25T08:14:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T08:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=4416"},"modified":"2018-10-25T08:16:21","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T08:16:21","slug":"play-safe-and-minimize-injuries-on-the-playground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/play-safe-and-minimize-injuries-on-the-playground\/","title":{"rendered":"Play safe and minimize injuries on the playground"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Playgrounds are a fun place for kids to let loose and get their daily dose of exercise. Exercise is essential to a child&#8217;s development as it helps them maintain a healthy body weight and build strong bones and muscles. However, if playground equipment is not properly used and maintained, injuries can occur.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2016, emergency departments, doctors&#8217; offices and clinics treated:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>62,114 people for playground-related injuries;<\/li>\n<li>8,566 for seesaw-related injuries;<\/li>\n<li>112,036 for swing and swing set-related injuries; and<\/li>\n<li>107,375 for slide-related injuries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaos.org\/Default.aspx?ssopc=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/posna.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">North America<\/span>\u00a0(POSNA)<\/a>\u00a0encourage parents and guardians to educate kids about their risks of injuries on the playground and encourage them to play safely.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Many injuries happen when you least expect it,&#8221; said AAOS spokesperson and pediatric orthopaedic surgeon\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">John Gaffney<\/span>, DO. &#8220;Parents and guardians should closely monitor children during play and talk to them ahead of time about the importance of proper playground equipment use.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The AAOS and POSNA recommend the following playground safety tips for parents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Never go down a slide with a baby or toddler in your lap.<\/li>\n<li>Steer children to age-appropriate playground equipment.<\/li>\n<li>Check to see that there is enough space for children to easily get off the slide or merry-go-round. Don&#8217;t let kids crowd around the exit areas.<\/li>\n<li>Check the handgrips on monkey bars and other climbing devices to verify they are secure, and also shaped and sized for a child&#8217;s hand.<\/li>\n<li>Swing seats should be made of plastic or rubber for a better grip.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid any equipment that has openings that could entrap a child&#8217;s head.<\/li>\n<li>Be sure you can always clearly see your children on the playground.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid playgrounds that have concrete, asphalt, hard-packed dirt or grass play surfaces. The surface should be made of wood chips, mulch, or shredded rubber for play equipment up to seven feet high.<\/li>\n<li>Use care and caution in the sun. In hot weather, equipment exposed to direct sunlight can become hot, and potentially burn skin.<\/li>\n<li>Remove tripping hazards such as exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, or rocks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For children:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Play on dry equipment.<\/li>\n<li>Hold on to handrails and climb stairs or steps slowly.<\/li>\n<li>Slide one person at a time, sitting down and facing forward, and move away from the slide as soon as you reach the ground. Never climb up the front of the slide.<\/li>\n<li>Do not cross in front of moving swings or teeter-totters.<\/li>\n<li>Remove drawstrings and hoods from clothing that could catch on equipment.<\/li>\n<li>Wear proper footwear to prevent splinters and cuts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>For more playground safety tips, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthoinfo.org\/en\/staying-healthy\/playground-safety-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">OrthoInfo.org.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parents and guardians should closely monitor children during play and talk to them ahead of time about the importance of proper playground equipment use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,36,15,35],"tags":[2106,802,2107,19,1828,2105,1373,20],"class_list":["post-4416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-health-wellness-2","category-opinions","category-wellness-2","tag-childs-play","tag-exercise","tag-games","tag-health","tag-parenting","tag-playground","tag-tips","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4418,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4416\/revisions\/4418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}