New Consumer Report on Playground Safety Takes Aim at Views of Corporate Groups
Source: Center for Justice & Democracy

The national consumer group Center for Justice & Democracy released today a new report entitled, Kids ‘N Safe Play: Regulation, Litigation And Playground Safety. The report, by CJ&D Attorney/Policy Analyst Amy Widman, herself a mom with young toddlers at home, comes on the heels of passage of major consumer project legislation, much of it aimed at child safety.
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The report says, “Since the mid-1980s, traditional steel on asphalt playgrounds have been increasingly replaced by play areas featuring brightly colored and molded structures with imaginative play spaces and interesting climbing equipment over soft ground covering, reflecting both safety and development improvements.… Use of safer shapes and materials, including soft surfaces and rounded edges, have not only allowed playgrounds to continue to be ‘fun’, but also result in safer equipment that is less likely to send a child to the hospital.” Moreover, many playground historians believe the old “prison yard” playgrounds of yore were not only unsafe, they were boring too.

Kids ‘N Safe Play explores the history of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulation, as well as studies by pediatricians and other health and consumer organizations, all of which support safer playgrounds. And while CPSC standards have prompted most new playground development, regulations and lawsuits have played a joint role in creating safer playgrounds. This has been especially true in helping correct environmental dangers, including arsenic in treated wood, peeling lead paint on metal structures, or playgrounds built too close to toxic land or inundated with pesticides.

+ Full Report (PDF; 432 KB)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Children and families, Government and politics, Health and healthcare, Safety, Sports, recreation and leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.