1000 SW Jackson Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8649 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee:
Randall Bolin
NHTSA Region VII

Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

John Drees
Douglas County
SAFE KIDS Coalition

John Halbran
Kansas Safety Belt
Education Office

Jim Keating
Kansas State
Firefighters Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office

Cindy Samuelson
Kansas Hospital Association

Safe Kids Kansas Highlights Playground Safety Week

Safe Kids Kansas recommends playgrounds with soft surfaces

Each year, approximately 10 children die from injuries involving playground equipment, and more than 200,000 are treated in emergency rooms. Falls account for 80 percent of playground injuries; however, most playground fatalities are caused by strangulation and occur in a family's yard, not on public property.

National Playground Safety Week, April 24-28, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Handbook for Public Playground Safety, providing guidelines for playground surfacing and age-appropriate labeling of equipment.

"Nothing can take the place of active supervision, but we do need to make sure our kids are playing in safe environments in the first place," says Jan Stegelman, Safe Kids Kansas coordinator. "Playground equipment should be labeled with a minimum age, and it should be surrounded by a protective surface."

Grass and soil are not good playground surfaces. "The ground should be covered 12 inches deep with shredded rubber, hardwood fiber mulch, pea gravel, or fine sand. The surface should extend at least six feet in all directions around the equipment," says Stegelman. "Proper surfacing won't prevent falls, but it can prevent injuries or reduce their severity."

Even nonfatal injuries from playground falls can be very serious. "A child who falls 10 feet is at risk of spinal cord injury, paralysis and death, and a child who falls about 5 feet is four times as likely to be injured as a child who falls from a lower height," says Stegelman.

Parents and caregivers need to keep kids in sight and in reach on the playground. "Simply being in the same place as your child isn't necessarily supervising," says Stegelman. "Kids on a playground need your undivided attention."

Safe Kids Kansas also reminds parents and caregivers to:

• Make sure playground equipment is inspected frequently and kept in good repair.
• Remove hood and neck drawstrings from children's clothing and outerwear and do not allow kids to wear helmets, necklaces, purses or scarves on the playground.
• Don't allow your kids to engage in any pushing, shoving or crowding around playground equipment.
• Keep toddlers under age 5 in a separate play area, fenced off from equipment designed for bigger kids.

The CPSC handbook is available at www.cpsc.org or 800-638-2772. For more information about playground safety, visit www.usa.safekids.org.

Safe Kids Kansas, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing accidental injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ellis, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marion, Meade, Mitchell, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Riley, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson and Woodson Counties, as well as the cities of Chanute, Emporia, Leavenworth, Norton, Pittsburg, the Wichita Area and the Metro Kansas City Area. Safe Kids Kansas a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury.

www.kansassafekids.org