Kids and play — an unbeatable combo. But not always. Sometimes, playground safety hazards can turn a carefree day into a traumatic trip to an emergency room.

Safe Kids USA, an organization supported by Jim Adler, founder of Jim S. Adler & Associates, knows the numbers. Safe Kids finds that 200,000 children yearly wind up in an ER after a playground mishap. Of those, about 90,000 suffer serious injuries, such as a broken bone — and 15 kids die.

Vigilant parents can keep such harm from happening, starting at home and extending to the proper maintenance of playground facilities.

As USA Today warned in a recent report, parents should ensure their kids aren’t wearing necklaces or clothing with drawstrings near the neck. Such things can get snagged on playground equipment and, with a fall, can choke a child — perhaps strangle him or her. So don’t even leave home when such a hazard dangles from a child’s neck.

Beyond that, there’s much that parents can do to protect their children on a playground, starting with urging the facility’s owner to improve safety. Playgrounds are used constantly by lively kids, and they need steady maintenance to keep up.

That means guarding against falls from equipment by making sure soft bedding is underneath. Loose materials may have been placed under slides or swings, but those can erode with steady play. Just as steady maintenance is needed, especially since falls are among the most common causes of playground injury, reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Also, many rubber surfaces aren’t shock-absorbing enough to cushion falls properly. Chrissy Cianflone of Safe Kids USA says swings and slides should have at least nine inches of cushioning, loose-fill material underneath, such as wood mulch. Make that 12 inches, since it will quickly compress.

Shredded rubber and wood chips work, too — but not asphalt, dirt, asphalt or even grass.

In hot summer weather, check any surface first to ensure it’s not too hot for little ones to touch. Metal or plastic equipment can absorb heat and become dangerously hot, as some tots have painfully found.

Indeed, the CPSC says younger kids are more at risk from such burns, since their reflexes and reactions aren’t quite fast enough yet to protect themselves from hot surfaces. And Houston’s KTRK ABC 13 recently reported that kids can get second- and third-degree burns on their arms, legs and back from playground equipment that’s absorbed too much heat.

Parents are advised to test metal surfaces such as poles, slides and chains for swings to ensure they aren’t too hot for kids to grasp. Paved surfaces also can harbor risky heat levels. One good strategy is to take kids to playgrounds before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m., when heat isn’t as extreme.

As for falls, since they’re almost inevitable, at least steer kids toward height limits. Children under 2 years old should not play atop anything higher than 32 inches. Older kids should have a height limit of 10 feet, keeping in mind that their fall must be cushioned properly even under this height.

Being mindful of such safety is, in large part, what good parenting is about. Be watchful, be vigilant, be careful — but still be encouraging to kids in their play. With the right child safety precautions, play should be all about fun, not about fear.

Jim S. Adler & Associates supports Safe Kids Greater Houston and encourages parents to get involved in organized efforts to protect their children.

Share on Facebook