School Days

Hard to believe another school year is starting. For little ones, recess is absolutely necessary to burn up that pent up energy and attempt to defy the laws of gravity. We have all taken a tumble on a playground at one time or another but faulty equipment should never be the cause of an injury.

Playground Equipment Hazards and Inspection

by Nick Gromicko and Rob London Children should never stand on swings.

Playgrounds should be enjoyable places where children -- and parents -- don't have to worry about safety issues presented by the place or the play equipment. But children who use defective playground equipment are placed in considerable jeopardy. Their safety can be maximized through some simple and common-sense strategies.

Facts and Figures

According to the Centers for Disease Control:

·Each year, more than 200,000 children in the U.S. are treated in emergency rooms for playground-related injuries.

·About 75% of all non-fatal playground-related injuries occur on public playgrounds, mostly at schools and daycare centers.

·Playground-related injuries cost an estimated $1.2 billion in 1995.

·Girls are more prone to playground-related injuries than boys (55% to 45%, respectively).

·The most at-risk age group for playground-related injuries are children ages 5 to 9.

·Swings are responsible for the most injuries on home playgrounds, while climbing apparatus is the most dangerous equipment on public playgrounds.

·Playgrounds in low-income areas in New York City have more maintenance-related hazards than those in high-income neighborhoods. For example, trash, rusty play equipment, and damaged fall surfaces were found to be more common in poorer communities than in wealthy areas.

School Days Humor

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My friend Rhonda was telling me how rushed she was that morning getting her three children off to school. One of them had a field trip, but Rhonda couldn't find the permission slip anywhere. She finally wrote a note to the teacher explaining she had lost the form but it was okay for her child to go on the trip. Later Rhonda got a call from the teacher saying the note she had sent was scribbled on the back of the "lost" permission slip.

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One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home. She read, "...And so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said, "Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?'" The teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that man said?" One little boy raised his hand and said, "I think he said 'Holy %$#@! A talking pig!'" The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.

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A school teacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all. On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in school. Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, he opened the window as wide as possible and then busied himself with desk work. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he took the desk stapler and stapled the tie to his chest. He had no trouble with discipline that term.

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Jeff Brown Inspections