Children of all ages fall off of playground equipment.  In fact, more children are injured on playgrounds from falls than from any other kind of injury.  It’s up to whoever is in charge of the playground (you, if it’s in your yard; your child’s school if it’s on the school’s property; the community, if it’s a public playground) to set up and maintain the area under the equipment so that it creates a safe landing place for your child when she falls.

Unsafe surfaces under playground equipment are asphalt, concrete, dirt, grass or flooring covered by carpet or gym mat.  They are too hard and have no “give” to them.  Acceptable surfaces are wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel, or shredded rubber.

And, can you even guess how deep the filler materials should be?  I’ve seen recommendations for between 9 and 12 inches!

So, even if your child’s playground looks safe because it has a mulch surface, be sure to ask how deep the the mulch (or other filler) is.

If your child is injured from a fall on a playground, you should talk to a child injury lawyer about whether the playground was unsafe, by its design, by its lack of maintenance or by its unacceptable surface.  Feel free to give me a call at 703-260-6070, contact me at Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com or through my firm’s website, www.RohrstaffLaw.com.  I will answer your questions for free.

Of course, I may be a little partial to this website, because it originates in Texas.  I grew up in Texas, so anything Texas still has a warm place in my heart.

•  Talk to other parents and neighbors — what have their experiences been?

•  Be sure you have a cushioned surface underneath the equipment — many injuries come from falls.

•  Think about where the equipment will be placed — you need to be able to see it when children are playing.

The Consumer Federation of America has published a list of tips to help you when you consider making this important purchase.

A four-year-old boy died on backyard play equipment three years ago when he fell from monkey bars and was strangled on a trapeze hanging below them.  According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, his parents have worked since his death to alert the Consumer Product Safety Commission and others about the unsafe design of the equipment, and new standards were approved last month.  Unfortunately, the CPSC has not yet issued any warnings about the design flaw.    

No one wants to keep a child in a cocoon.  Children need to run and play.  That’s part of the “job” of being a child.  But part of the job of being adults is to design safe equipment for children to play on.  The CPSC has made finding safe home play eqauipment a little easier with its Outdoor Home Playground Equipment Safety Handbook.