As a supply teacher in primary schools, Ms. Ayoub has seen her share of tumbles, cuts, bruises and broken bones. But witnessing her son's fall up close opened her eyes. I couldn't believe it. If he had fallen on his head instead of his arm, he could have been killed. Every year, more than 28,000 children across the country are injured in playground accidents, according to Health Canada.
Falls are, by far, the leading cause of pediatric injury, hospital admissions and death.
Since 1982, at least 18 children have died in playground incidents. As a parent, I assumed that public parks were safe. Little research has been done in the area, but all of it to date bears out Mr. Gauvreau's observation. In 1995, researchers at the Montreal public-health department, concerned by the number of children taken from local parks to emergency room, examined 205 of the city's parks at random. They found problems with the design and installation of almost half of all play structures.