Now that I think about it, a heavy textbook or sharpened pencil used improperly could kill someone. I hope that they will ban such potentially dangerous objects from 5th Avenue. If they can’t control kids on the play equipment… they can’t control them with sharp objects like pencils either. A kid can get killed or badly injured on a stairway if some out of control child pushes them down the stairs so I hope that they will exclude those hazardous stairs too. Hmmm… then there’s the bathrooms… There is enough water in those toilets to drown a child if some bully comes along and decides it’s time for a prolonged swirly. Even the thought of having a potential drowning hazard like that scares me to death. Also… the sand on the “sand volleyball court,” surely has to go because it’s only a matter of time before a child throws sand in another child’s eyes. Plus they’ll all get worms there anyway because it will be little more than a giant litter box.

It blows my mind that CSD encourages 9-year-olds to walk or bike through a busy urban area teeming with speeding fools on cell phones to get to school each morning and afternoon, but they won’t let them have a playground! Really?

Yes, someone could be hurt, but that’s true of just about everything. I guess my feeling is that there’s also value in letting kids “live on the edge” of their safety zone from time to time.

Save the roundabout thingy!

Maybe there is a perfectly good explanation as to why 9-11 year olds should not be provided with a traditional playground and age-appropriate equipment but the evidence-based rationale should be shared so all understand. The National Program for Playground Safety (www.playgroundsafety.org)which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Injury Prevention has tons of info and recommendations on their website. Their position in short is:

“School playgrounds are more than places for children to burn off excess energy. They are places where children can develop physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually. School playgrounds should be outdoor learning environments where children can have fun!”

A good reference is the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Public Playground Safety Handbook” which is intended for “childcare personnel, school officials, parks and recreation personnel, equipment purchasers and installers, playground designers, and any other members of the general public (e.g., parents and school groups) concerned with public playground safety and interested in evaluating their respective playgrounds.” It lists the following as appropriate for elementary age children (aged 5-12 years):
• Arch climbers
• Chain or cable walks
• Free standing climbing events with flexible parts
• Fulcrum seesaws
• Ladders – Horizontal, Rung, & Step
• Overhead rings
• Merry-go-rounds
• Ramps
• Ring treks
• Slides
• Spiral slides more than one 360° turn
• Stairways
• Swings – belt & rotating tire
• Track rides
• Vertical sliding poles

While I think that an open field and volleyball area addresses some of the above, I think more is needed.