April 24th to April 28th
NSSI Recognizes National Playground Safety Week 2006
National Playground Safety
Week, recognized throughout the United States, is an opportunity for adults to
consider the need for safer playgrounds where our children play. In schools and childcare facilities,
children spend anywhere from 15% to 30% of their day on the playground. Playgrounds are meant to provide outdoor
areas for learning, play and fitness, however each year, the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, reports that over 200,000 children are seriously injured on
playgrounds each year.
The National Safe Surfacing
Initiative (NSSI) works tirelessly with state agencies and national recognized
groups like the National Program for
Playground Safety (NPPS) to raise the awareness of playground safety and to
research solutions and new technologies to make playgrounds safer.
"I believe that our pilot project is showing that when schools
follow Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines by improving their
playground supervision skills and their safety surfacing, injuries can be
reduced", said Tim Mahoney, President of the National Safe Surfacing
Initiative. "This is significant when you consider that 70% of all playground injuries
are due to falls to the surface."
"The added benefit of the
project is the environmental and economic impact it is making in the state of
Iowa", added Heather Olsen, Operations Coordinator for the National Program for
Playground Safety. "In addition, NPPS
has seen a great improvement in the number of schools and child care centers
that want to have an outdoor area that is educational, fun, and safe"
Last year, through the Iowa
Safe Surfacing Initiative a pilot project funded by the Iowa Legislature, the
NSSI and NPPS allocated $500,000 for schools for playground safety surfacing in
an ongoing pilot study. So far, when
playground assessment and safety supervision provided by the NPPS is combined
with rubber safety surfacing provided by the NSSI, serious playground injuries
have been reduced by 75%.
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