Safe playgrounds

[Pure]

if you haven't noticed: no more tall slides, see saws, merry go rounds and ropes.

yes, wood chips are better to fall on, than asphalt, but the rest of this 'safety' campaign seems to have gone 'over the top'.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html?ref=us

Can a Playground be Too Safe?



The old tall jungle gyms and slides disappeared from most American playgrounds across the country in recent decades because of parental concerns, federal guidelines, new safety standards set by manufacturers and — the most frequently cited factor — fear of lawsuits. Shorter equipment with enclosed platforms was introduced, and the old pavement was replaced with rubber, wood chips or other materials designed for softer landings. These innovations undoubtedly prevented some injuries, but some experts question their overall value.

“There is no clear evidence that playground safety measures have lowered the average risk on playgrounds,” said David Ball, a professor of risk management at Middlesex University in London. He noted that the risk of some injuries, like long fractures of the arm, actually increased after the introduction of softer surfaces on playgrounds in Britain and Australia.

[...]

Fear of litigation led New York City officials to remove seesaws, merry-go-rounds and the ropes that young Tarzans used to swing from one platform to another. Letting children swing on tires became taboo because of fears that the heavy swings could bang into a child.

 

[oggbashan]

Our local park has replaced the older equipment with taller, more challenging items.

Yes, we have softer surfaces around that equipment, softer than hard asphalt, but the users are more likely to fall off because they are trying to do things at the limit of their abilities.

The previous playground was used by 3 to 8 year olds. The current one is used by 3 to 16 year olds.

It is possible to devise playgrounds that children find challenging and meet safety requirements.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Nanny taking care of the children who don't know how to play nice with others.

[sarcasm] Yep when I fall and break my arm the very first thing I think of is who the fuck to sue. It just has to be someone else's fault. I'm not clumsy, so it's not my fault.[/sarcasm]

 

[3113]

[sarcasm] Yep when I fall and break my arm the very first thing I think of is who the fuck to sue. It just has to be someone else's fault. I'm not clumsy, so it's not my fault.[/sarcasm]

Well, given how ruinously expensive it is to send a kid to the hospital, that may be the only way to pay for such an accident. I think if medical bills didn't lead families to bankruptcy they'd be less inclined to sue playgrounds over broken arms.

Just a different prospective there.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Well, given how ruinously expensive it is to send a kid to the hospital, that may be the only way to pay for such an accident. I think if medical bills didn't lead families to bankruptcy they'd be less inclined to sue playgrounds over broken arms.

Just a different prospective there.

And there in lies the problem. Now do you want a rant on medical expenses that will soar come 2014 or do you just want to leave it alone?

 

[oggbashan]

Well, given how ruinously expensive it is to send a kid to the hospital, that may be the only way to pay for such an accident. I think if medical bills didn't lead families to bankruptcy they'd be less inclined to sue playgrounds over broken arms.

Just a different prospective there.

In the UK, sending a kid to hospital is free.

That doesn't stop ambulance-chasing lawyers promising massive payouts if you sue.

 

[PennLady]

I have three playgrounds nearby that I take my kids to. They have tall slides, one has a merry-go-round, they have swings, monkey bars and various climbing things. All you can do is keep an eye on the kids. Unfortunately, they will get hurt. You can only try to minimize it.

 

[stephen55]

A paediatric prof of mine once said that if a child reaches the age of puberty without having had at least one broken bone, then the child was over-protected!

But then, he also said that any paediatric fracture will heal properly if both ends of the bone are in the same room...

 

[jomar]

Yeah, back in the day we'd use that spinning thing to cull the herd at the old elementary school.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

You also won't find any diving boards in public swimming pools, and from what I hear, new pools have a maximum depth of only 5 feet.

The problem is out-of-control tort law and damage-hungry lawyers, the same people who forced manufacturers to indemnify themselves by putting safety labels on everything they make (On rolling office chairs: "Warning! Do not stand on seat!" and screwdrivers: "Warning! Do not insert into eye!")

The US needs tort reform badly.

 

[PennLady]

You also won't find any diving boards in public swimming pools, and from what I hear, new pools have a maximum depth of only 5 feet.

The problem is out-of-control tort law and damage-hungry lawyers, the same people who forced manufacturers to indemnify themselves by putting safety labels on everything they make (On rolling office chairs: "Warning! Do not stand on seat!" and screwdrivers: "Warning! Do not insert into eye!")

The US needs tort reform badly.

Well, I can refute that. My area swimming pool has diving boards, and the depth ranges from 3' to 10' or 12' near the diving boards. It's quasi-public, I guess; you need to pay a membership fee.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Well, I can refute that. My area swimming pool has diving boards, and the depth ranges from 3' to 10' or 12' near the diving boards. It's quasi-public, I guess; you need to pay a membership fee.

No doubt that's where that expression came from: "As reckless as a Pennsylvanian at a private pool!"

 

[TE999]

This cult of the over protection of children is ludicrous.

There's a fine line between being cautious (which most kids aren't) and being totally risk averse, which they can become if continually sheltered. A few bumps and bruises never killed anybody and we often learn by doing.

Of course one can adopt Homer Simpson's attitude towards risk: "I dunno Marge, trying is the first step towards failure."

 

[Weird Harold]

Well, I can refute that. My area swimming pool has diving boards, and the depth ranges from 3' to 10' or 12' near the diving boards. It's quasi-public, I guess; you need to pay a membership fee.

But is your pool a "new" pool?

the apartment comple I live in originally had two pools, niether deepr than five feet and neither with a diving board. One new municipal pool has bee built since then but it only has four competition lanes that extend into the diving area -- a single one-meter board -- which is roped off and off-limits most of the day. The main area of the pool averages about three feet or four feet deep and takes up about 90% of the pool.

It requires a bit of searching and an annual fee to find a pool capable of hosting competitive swimming or deep-water exercisimg.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Whatever happened to the parents responsibility for their children?

And if you want to wrap your child in cotton batting and keep them from harm, don't take the little darling to the park...simple answer.

Although you are on public property, the implication should be exactly what the sign at the entrance says..."Use at your own risk."

Why should the state be responsible if they keep the equipment in proper working order?

The misuse of the equipment by the child is the parents responsibility. Just goes to show you what a bunch of wusses parents are and how dependent they have come to be on the state.

 

[R. Richard]

When I was younger, back in the South Central, playgrounds were mainly hard dirt, with enough rocks to may qualify as gravel. I never got injured there.
The older, larger, stronger bad boys tried to beat up on Whi' Boy, but that never bothered the school people or the scumbags. When Whi' Boy beat up on the older, larger, stronger bad boys, that bothered the school people and the scumbags (I was smaller, but I fight dirty.)
Tort refom never came into it, because Whi' Boy didn't have a cent (a dime was big money to Whi' Boy, back then.) However, school administrator and scumbag reform would certainly have helped. JMNTHO.
(While I only rarely suffered physical injury, my feeling were hurt on a pretty much day by day basis. However, the bad boys had only a little more money than I did. Torts would not have accomplished much.)

 

[Stella_Omega]

This thread is the old farts hanging around on the general store's wooden porch, filching crackers and pickles from the barrels and bitching about how things were better in the old days.

Too cute!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Todays parents and children are wusses and Stella has bought into the wussification of America.

 

[GinaTina]

There are no teeter-totters left in the playgrounds around here, either. I used to love those things and I never once fell off. In fact, the one time I DID break a bone was in my own garage when I was a child - and that was a result of tripping over something.

Kids are going to get hurt, no matter how closely you watch them. As has been said; the best you can do is try to minimize it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Todays parents and children are wusses and Stella has bought into the wussification of America.

Old grumpy grandpa.

But on a more serious note, I never told my kids not to climb trees, jump off of things, play on teeter totters, and they did all of that.

I did however tell my partner that he had better think about the cost of hospital care if he went out for hockey. So far he's cost us around $30,000 in broken bones etc, and it's too expensive a hobby for us. If you want to call that "wussification," be my guest. It's a motherfucking shame too, because he's good-- but we simply cannot afford the side issues.

 

[Goldie Munro]

Old grumpy grandpa.

But on a more serious note, I never told my kids not to climb trees, jump off of things, play on teeter totters, and they did all of that.

I did however tell my partner that he had better think about the cost of hospital care if he went out for hockey. So far he's cost us around $30,000 in broken bones etc, and it's too expensive a hobby for us. If you want to call that "wussification," be my guest. It's a motherfucking shame too, because he's good-- but we simply cannot afford the side issues.

Wow. This is an aspect of not having a national health service that I had never even thought of.

 

[mynameisben]

After the Bush administration, Americans stopped saying the country is going to hell in a hand basket. It's clear to everyone we've already arrived.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Wow. This is an aspect of not having a national health service that I had never even thought of.

*a bitter laugh*

Not having health insurance turns any thinking person into a physical coward.

 

[jomar]

This thread is the old farts hanging around on the general store's wooden porch, filching crackers and pickles from the barrels and bitching about how things were better in the old days.

Too cute!

Hey! You kids get offa my lawn!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Old grumpy grandpa.

But on a more serious note, I never told my kids not to climb trees, jump off of things, play on teeter totters, and they did all of that.

I did however tell my partner that he had better think about the cost of hospital care if he went out for hockey. So far he's cost us around $30,000 in broken bones etc, and it's too expensive a hobby for us. If you want to call that "wussification," be my guest. It's a motherfucking shame too, because he's good-- but we simply cannot afford the side issues.

Wussification doesn't mean not doing what you can't afford, it means doing it and expecting somebody else to pay for your mistake. Wussification is keeping your child from knowing pain and suffering so when they get in the really world, they wonder what the fuck happened. Wussification, is the state choreographing each and every one of your moves from birth to grave.

Trying to do something is not being a wuss, not trying is.