Overprotective measures from parents make playground accidents more likely to take place, a study has found.
A study conducted by Mineola, New York’s Winthrop University Hospital found that each injury reported through the use of a slide occurs after a child rides on the lap of a parent.
Dr John T. Gaffney, a chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery who was behind the research, said that parents are understandably shocked to discover they played a part in injuring their child.
He said: ‘The parents were very frustrated and upset to learn that they had inadvertently contributed to their child’s fracture when they thought they were helping.’
The original 2009 study was conducted after research by the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that there was an increase in reported playground injuries between 1999 and 2008.
An estimated 205,000 children were found to be injured on playground equipment during 1999. It was less than the 220,000 children who were taken to the emergency room after experiencing playground injuries in 2008.
The most common playground injuries found by the CPSC were fractures, bruises, cuts and sprains, which made up 85per cent of all emergency room visits.
‘Parents were very frustrated and upset to learn that they had inadvertently contributed to their child’s fracture’
The study also stated that 14per cent of those injuries caused to the lower leg bones occur on a slide.
It also found that no records of injuries sustained by children who sat alone on a slide.
The ineffective safety procedure still exists in the playground today according to Mark A. Reinecke, the chair of psychology and child development at Illinois’ Northwestern University.
He told ABC: ‘If [a] parent appears anxious or fearful, the child will attend to these cues and respond accordingly.’
