Swing sets too dangerous for schools?

[Karl_K]

This is crazy
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Swing-sets-too-dangerous-for-Richland-schools-278024441.html

 

[Dee*Jay]

As a society we're doomed...

 

[Gypsy]

Here we go. Let's helicopter our kids to death. So they are completely unprepared for and scared of everything.

 

[iLander]

Well, hell, lets just cover the little darlings in cotton batting until they turn 18.

Or how about full-on body casts? That'll keep them safe!

Unless the casts have gluten.

 

[momhappy]

Oh, good grief
How about we just wrap them in bubble wrap or better yet, we could have them roll around in kid-size hamster balls
Everything on a playground is potentially dangerous and I don't think swings are any worse (or better) than any other piece of equipment. As someone who's been a teacher, a camp counselor, etc., I have personally seen more accidents occur on monkey bars, but like I said, accidents can happen anywhere, at any time, and on any piece of playground equipment. Banning swings is not the answer. Before you know it, our poor kids will be walking around on empty, grass playgrounds after we ban everything for "safety" reasons. I am all about safety (probably more of a helicopter parent than I would like to admit ), but even I find banning swings a bit ridiculous.

 

[WinkHPD]

Glad to see that I am not alone in thinking that this is insane.

Read the article and the majority of kids who get hurt walk in front of or behind the moving swings.

Granted the toddler talked about in the article could not be expected to know better, but any one over the age of 3?

It would seem to me that 200,000 kids out of the tens of millions that go to elementary school is not as big a number as the article writer would like us to believe.

It would also seem that any who do not quickly learn not to step in front of a moving swing would very possibly the same ones that would learn permanently, pretty soon, not to walk in front of moving cars. Probably better that they learn that lesson with a much less lethal swing.

Wink

 

[Circe]

Nonsense. When I was a kid, the ne plus ultra of the playground was to go high enough to loop the loop. Now, THAT was probably not such a great idea, and I'm glad they've modified the chain length so it's no longer aerodynamically possible. But c'mon now ... swings are awesome! Taking them away signals a really sad shift in the cost/benefit ratio of how we're approaching childhood. And I say this as the mother of a toddler I have to basically keep within a two foot radius when we're around them, because he WILL try to run too close to get to one as soon as possible when it opens up ...

P.S. - I also miss real jungle gyms.

 

[junebug17]

I don't have a problem with it - I see it as keeping kids safe, not coddling. There are lots of kids running around on a school playground and it's hard to supervise them all. I can see where a school would just want to avoid the responsibility and liability. Parents can take their kids to a public park to go on swings.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It is not about safety, it is about MONEY. The insurance company said remove swings or we raise your rates. They will be headed towards nothing but grass. But hey, kids could run and slip on grass, so better ban the playground altogether.

Oh, and one more thing...they aren't considering that swinging is GOOD for the brain and sensory integration!!!

http://noahsdad.com/swings-help-children-sensory-integration/

http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Swings-Not-Just-for-Recess.aspx

 

[amc80]

This is so ridiculous. Reminds me of the school (school district?) that banned playing tag because some kids weren't as athletic as others...and their feelings got hurt. Poor little snowflake.

 

[monarch64]

I used to run to snag a swing every day on a playground that was paved with asphalt.

 

[WinkHPD]

It is not about safety, it is about MONEY. The insurance company said remove swings or we raise your rates. They will be headed towards nothing but grass. But hey, kids could run and slip on grass, so better ban the playground altogether.

Oh, and one more thing...they aren't considering that swinging is GOOD for the brain and sensory integration!!!

http://noahsdad.com/swings-help-children-sensory-integration/

http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Swings-Not-Just-for-Recess.aspx

Agreed. Between my ninth and tenth year of high school I would go to the public pool every day and dive off the high board. I went to visit my cousin in a small town an hour or two away and stayed with him for a month. He was on the swim team and the coach there worked with me on my diving and I ended up taking 3rd in the State at the end of the summer. (Believe me, third place was another galaxy away from 1st and second, those guys were GOOD. I was just a sort of fat kid who could dive really well for a fat kid...)

The point is, I could do it. Today there are no public high diving boards and practically no low ones any more either. Did I hurt myself. Heck YES! Do you have any idea how bad a back flop hurts off the high dive???

If you don't, trust me, you do not want to!

Did it make me a better diver? HECK YES! I listened to my coach, put on a couple of thick sweatshirts and did ten more half gainers before I left the pool that day, or I never would have had the courage to go back to a half gainer again.

My mom said it obviously knocked some sense into me, but I am not sure I want to go on record as agreeing with THAT!

Wink

 

[momhappy]

I used to run to snag a swing every day on a playground that was paved with asphalt.

Me too
I have a child with some minor special needs and she chooses the swings almost every day at recess. She swings not only because she enjoys it, but also because it's something fun to do by herself when she's rejected by her peers….

 

[kenny]

That's the last straw!

I'm going to my local school playgrounds to give each kid a chain saw.

 

[packrat]

Ohhh we had TWO of those jungle gyms back in the day. One was tall and like that and was tiered, so bigger on the bottom, then got smaller until it was just a couple squares on the top. SO awesome. The other was like a space ship. And we used to have two different merry go rounds-one of them was wooden and tilted a little bit. AND we used to have this crazy metal thing, I don't know what it was, but like a may pole I guess? you held onto the things, ran really fast and would swing out into the air omg so-much-fun. Now they get the dumb plastic thing w/a bridge and a couple dumb slides.

 

[JewelFreak]

GO Kenny! Maybe we should outlaw curbs too, because our dear little ones can hurt themselves stepping off one. It's more than the money -- it's parents who sue when little honey hurts his little self, and juries who award them.

 

[iLander]

It is not about safety, it is about MONEY. The insurance company said remove swings or we raise your rates. They will be headed towards nothing but grass. But hey, kids could run and slip on grass, so better ban the playground altogether.

Oh, and one more thing...they aren't considering that swinging is GOOD for the brain and sensory integration!!!

http://noahsdad.com/swings-help-children-sensory-integration/

http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Swings-Not-Just-for-Recess.aspx

ALL Insurance companies suck. Big time. And when it's time for them to pay up, they close their doors, like AIG. They are evil.

 

[monarch64]

I used to run to snag a swing every day on a playground that was paved with asphalt.

Me too
I have a child with some minor special needs and she chooses the swings almost every day at recess. She swings not only because she enjoys it, but also because it's something fun to do by herself when she's rejected by her peers….

Yeah, I can't imagine, don't WANT to imagine a childhood without swings.

 

[iLander]

GO Kenny! Maybe we should outlaw curbs too, because our dear little ones can hurt themselves stepping off one. It's more than the money -- it's parents who sue when little honey hurts his little self, and juries who award them.

+1

And we should eliminate stairs, so the little darlings don't trip. One level living, the whole country!

 

[Karl_K]

I know! I know!
Outlaw schools and ban any group of more than 3 kids playing together because they might spread a cold or the flu.
Schools are just germ factories and making millions of kids sick each year!
Its for the children ya know!

 

[ksinger]

I'm almost certain I've posted this before, but it's just so stinkin' spot on I MUST link again.

Hey PARENTS!! Leave those kids alone!!!
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/

 

[momhappy]

Where does it end? Over 5000 children are seen in hospitals each year for injuries related to falling out of windows, so shall we ban those too???

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

My school doesn't even HAVE a playground because of things like this. The kids run around on blacktop and get some balls to throw. This is special ED K-8 btw. Nothing. Such a tragedy.

 

[Gypsy]

I know! I know!
Outlaw schools and ban any group of more than 3 kids playing together because they might spread a cold or the flu.
Schools are just germ factories and making millions of kids sick each year!
Its for the children ya know!

There you go!

 

[alpackie]

This is a local story for me, here's some context: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/School-Districts-to-remove-all-swing-sets-in-wake-of-tragedy-278453871.html

As someone who does recess duty every day, I'd say swings are just fine as long as they're over woodchips, and partioned off from the rest of the "big toy" area. (imagine kids running around, not being aware of their surroundings and getting kicked in the face by a kid on a swing)

 

[OreoRosies86]

This is a local story for me, here's some context: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/School-Districts-to-remove-all-swing-sets-in-wake-of-tragedy-278453871.html

As someone who does recess duty every day, I'd say swings are just fine as long as they're over woodchips, and partioned off from the rest of the "big toy" area. (imagine kids running around, not being aware of their surroundings and getting kicked in the face by a kid on a swing)

That is so awful and sad. A freak accident. I'm sure the school is just in shock and trying to do the best they can.