Risk is part of play, Christiansen acknowledges, but there s a very big different between learning to push your own limits pumping the swing as high as you can and potential play hazards that can end in tragedy. There have been a number of cases where children have strangled themselves or have broken their necks when a drawstring on their clothing became entangled in a piece of equipment, Christiansen says. It s the drawstring with the knots or little buttons on the end where we've had problems, he says, but anything hanging around the neck can cause problems, including a pacifier. When a pre-school child becomes entangled at the neck that can result in 30 to 40 pounds of pressure literally their entire body weight against the larynx, Just three pounds of pressure there can make the child unconscious in as little as 30 seconds, Christiansen explains. They can die in as little as three minutes.
Playgrounds can have other hazards, resulting from old or poorly designed and installed equipment.
Because a child s body and frame are soft, a blow to the temple from a moving, steel swing such as the old-style animal swings can prove fatal. An enclosed slide may be a place for vandals to leave bits of glass or wire. Hot metal slides may burn tender skin in summer heat. The most recent concern is the issue of children wearing bicycle helmets on playground equipment which was designed to clear heads but not the large helmets. They can be caught and leave a child dangling helplessly.