Playground Safety Spring and summer are outside play time.
Youngsters head off to playgrounds in local parks or their own backyards.
Unfortunately, each year approximately 280,000 children will be treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries involving playground equipment and surfacing. Sixty-two percent of these injuries occur when children fall from playground equipment, often onto hard and unforgiving surfaces. In order to make playgrounds safer, the National Safety Council offers a few simple guidelines for backyard, school, park or other types of playgrounds. Make sure the surfacing can cushion falls. Ground surfacing should lessen the likelihood of injuries from falls.