Swing Sets Safety Issues

As many as 50,000 children end up in hospital emergency rooms annually because of injuries on home playground equipment, about 80 percent of them as the result of falls. Make sure your yard has the proper clearances. There should be at least six feet between a play set and any obstacles, such as fences, walls or trees. For swings, the recommended leeway is twice the height of the structure both in front of and behind the swings. Take into account your children's ages. A 2-year-old, for instance, shouldn't be swinging in a flexible rubber seat with no restraints or barreling down a six-foot slide. The height of the play set and the spaces between ladder rungs also should differ depending on a child's size and physical ability. On the flip side, children might outgrow a small play set too quickly, so be sure to ask whether the set is expandable or adjustable. Avoid chemicals and opt for natural wood. Remember that you need to clean it regularly and paint or stain it.
Plastic or metal structures are the safest. Grass and dirt won't protect your children from falls, and even resilient surfacing won't work unless you use enough. This is one area where you don't want to cut costs: Protective surfaces are critical for preventing devastating head injuries. A minimum depth of nine inches of loose fill, such as wood chips, engineered wood fiber or rubber mulch, is recommended for an eight-foot-tall play set; nine inches of sand or pea gravel is sufficient only for a five-foot set. These materials must be replenished over time as they settle or are kicked away. Rubber tiles or poured-in-place surfaces should extend at least six feet from the play set in all directions. Tire swings require even more protective surfacing, with a radius equal to the height of the suspending chain plus six feet in all directions. Supervision is the best defense against injury. Monitor your children and your neighbor's children

Web Resources

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's playground safety publications are available online. The Outdoor Home Safety Handbook (Document No. 324) gives a particularly useful overview for homeowners considering a play set. The Public Playground Safety Handbook (Document No. 325) contains specific guidelines for the age-appropriateness of playground equipment. They can be viewed at http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/playpubs.html.

All of the commission's voluntary guidelines for public playgrounds, which are stricter and more detailed than residential guidelines, can be viewed at http://www.cpsc.gov/volstd/publicplayground/publicplayground.html.