Media Release

Attention: News editors/Health reporters - 16 February 2006

Play time is risky business – research

Parents should be aware of new playground safety standards when choosing and installing equipment in their backyards, a new report from the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) says.

The report, by MUARC’s Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit, reveals that about a third of playground equipment injuries that need hospital treatment happen in backyards.

It recommends retailers tell parents about the relevance of safety requirements for home use, including critical fall heights, site selection, surfacing, and safe use.

The unit’s director, Ms Erin Cassell, said a concerted campaign to raise awareness and educate parents was needed as too many children were suffering unnecessarily.

There were nearly 8000 playground equipment injuries in Victoria between July 2002 and June 2004, with five-to-nine year olds being most at risk.

“It’s just as common for children to be injured on play equipment at home as at school or a public park, and parents need to be vigilant about the type of equipment they buy and where they put it, as well as ongoing maintenance and supervision,” Ms Cassell said.

Most injuries resulted from falls from monkey bars, climbing equipment and trampolines, with falls from slides, swings and flying foxes also common.

Broken arms accounted for half of hospital visits. Other injuries mentioned in the report include a penis “de-gloving” from a trampoline spring, the partial amputation of a finger in a swing mechanism, and a seesaw that banged into a child’s new front teeth.

The report also urges governments to provide and maintain safe playground surfaces in public, pre-school and school playgrounds, whether it is rubber, loose fill or a combination. A recent MUARC study of play-equipment-related broken arms in schools found that only 19 of the 402 inspected school playgrounds complied with the Australian Standard in terms of recommended depth of loose fill (tanbark) surfacing.

The full report can be viewed at http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/VISU/hazard/index.html

Ms Erin Cassell is available for interview on +61 3 9905 1857.

For further information, contact Ms Allison Harding, MUARC media communications officer on 9905 1255 or 0419 302 520.