4 Types of Playground Equipment and Concussions
Each year, more than 220,000 children under the age of 14 are treated in hospital emergency rooms across the United States for injuries occurring on playgrounds.
The most common playground-related injuries that require a doctor's care are:
Internal organ injuries
Dislocations
The most common playground-related cause of childhood emergency room visits is falling from the equipment to the ground. Children fall because they slip, lose their grip, or lose their balance while playing on monkey bars, swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, and see-saws.
FACT: Monkey bars or playground gyms (28.3%) and swings (28.1%) were the most frequently associated with TBI.
So what can you do to help your kiddo decrease the risk of a concussion and have fun on the playground?!
Constant supervision
Play with your kiddo on the playground vs sitting on the bench and watching
Explain why some equipment isn’t safe or how to use equipment safely.
Other helpful tips!
SWINGING
Sit down while you swing
Hold on to the swing chains with both hands
Do not jump off of a moving swing
Only one person should swing on the same swing at a time
Wait until the swing stops moving before you get off.
SLIDES
Go down the side one person at a time sitting down and FACING FORWARD
Don’t start to go down until the person ahead of you is on the ground
Never climb up the front of the slide, and don't climb over the guardrails
