It’s that time of year again. Time to buy your kids a new set of clothing, shoes, backpacks, books, supplies and the thousand and one other things kids need to go back to school. Unfortunately, this also is the time of year when childhood injuries begin rising again and remain high throughout the school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that emergency rooms treat over 200,000 children age 14 and younger each year. This figure, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Overall, close to 4 million students suffer some type of injury every school year, and up to 80 percent of elementary school children must receive treatment from their school nurse.
In fact, per the CDC, your children have a higher risk of sustaining a severe injury on their school playground than they do when riding their bicycles or riding in a car. Playgrounds, of course, are not the only places where your children can injure themselves at school. For young children, however, these are the school-related places where most injuries occur. Other dangerous places for students of all ages include the following:
- Athletic field
- Parking lots
In New York, schools have the duty and responsibility to provide your children with a safe environment in which to learn and play. In terms of playgrounds, they must adhere to industry standards with regard to their playground’s construction, maintenance and supervision. Given the fact that falls, whether on the playground or elsewhere, are the number one way in which children become injured at school, the playground must be fall-safe.
This does not mean that the school bears the responsibility of seeing to it that your children never fall. Rather, it means is that the playground surface must be one that deflects or redirects the downward force of your child’s fall. Most schools accomplish this by means of wood chips. It may surprise you to learn that industry standards actually specify how many inches of wood chips a playground surface must have.
Your children’s schools have the duty not only to properly maintain all playground equipment, but also to maintain the surface’s level of wood chips. In addition, they must provide adequate supervision during school hours while your children are on the playground, such as during recess or while they are on their lunch breaks. Such supervision includes the following:
- Making sure your children are not misusing the playground equipment in an unsafe manner
- Making sure your children are playing only on age-appropriate equipment
- Making sure any playground arguments do not escalate to the point of a fight or other inappropriate and/or dangerous playground behavior
- Making sure no other students bully your children
Common Playground Injuries
As stated, falls represent the number one reason why children suffer injuries at school. The CDC estimates that falls account for 75 percent of all playground injuries. Should your child fall, (s)he could sustain any or all of the following:
- Cuts and lacerations
- Strains or sprains
- Dislocated joints
- Broken bones
- Head, neck or back injuries that could result in a concussion, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis, or even death
Your children likewise are at risk for strangulation while on the playground. Equipment components such as ropes, pulleys and metal bars all can put your child in a choke hold. What may never have occurred to you, however, is that your children’s outdoor clothing likewise can choke them. For instance, the cords and pulls on your kids’ hooded sweatshirts and jackets can get wrapped around their necks. While it may seem counterintuitive to you in terms of the reason why you buy your kids such outerwear, you may wish to consider removing all cords and drawstrings from their sweatshirts, jackets and coats before allowing them to wear these items to school.
If your child suffers a playground or other injury while at school, please call Richard A. Dubi toll-free at 833-FOR-DUBI (833-367-3824).