5 Most Dangerous Backyard Activities For Kids

It’s summertime! A time when the kids are out of school and looking to find ways to entertain themselves around the house. Often that involves being out playing in the yard; either because they want to or because their parents have sent them out. This may result in all kinds of play, from using the swing set, trampoline, or other equipment that’s handy, or by finding other games to play.

According to the 2021 Summer Home Safety Report out of the U.S. by SafeHome.org Research, over 60% of all summer-related injuries occur among children ages 2-11.

The following are the 5 most dangerous activities for kids and tops for parent to prevent injury:

1. Trampolines: This is backyard staple gets the most emergency room visits per year with 3,193. Ways to avoid injury includes checking that bolts are tight, installing a safety net enclosure, adding padding over the frame and springs, and setting jumping rules with adult supervision.
2. Monkey Bars: This playground favorite comes in at No.2 with 2,804 emergency room visits per year.  To keep your child safe, make sure they enough upper body strength to swing, place padding underneath to soften any falls, check for loose bolts and wood splinters.
3. Open Porches and Balconies: This item is not a playground fixture, but it lands the No. 3 spot with 2,793 emergency room visits per year. To avoid injury, experts say you should install safety netting or plastic guards to covers spaces between rails and use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
4. Slides: Coming at No. 4 with 1,618 emergency room visits per year are slides.  To prevent injuries do not go down the slide with your child in your lap, teach your child to go down feet first and remove any dangerous debris from the landing spot.
5. Swing Sets: No. 5 with 1,469 of the most emergency room visits are swing sets. Tighten equipment before use and ignore the “please!” from your child to push them higher to avoid injuries.

While they can all cause injuries, they are not typically deadly. The No. 1 cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4 outside of birth defects is drowning and built-in pools result in 382 emergency room visits per year.

This doesn’t mean you should fill in your pool, or tear down the jungle gym and throw away the trampoline. The best way to keep your child safe is to have conversations around safety in the yard. Develop house rules, have an adult chaperone, and install fencing to avoid young children falling into the pool by accident.

For more on 2021 Summer Home Safety Report click this link.

Source: https://bit.ly/3eeSZZ9