What is the Duty of Supervision on Playgrounds at Day Care Centers, Schools, and Summer Camps?
Playgrounds are wonderful areas for children to explore Eric with friends and exercise. Unfortunately, some playgrounds are the sites of serious personal injuries and in some instances the death of a child. Injuries and accidents do happen. The typical playground has different levels or areas including swings, monkey bars, slides, ladders, and other areas. At any given time, a child should skin her knee, bump her head, or twist an ankle. The nature of the play in the area may cause these and other types of injuries even with proper supervision and maintenance of the equipment; however, when injury takes place as a result of negligent supervision or neglient maintenance, a parent should contact a Florida Child Injury Lawyer to discuss the rights of the child in the respective responsibilities of the day care center, school, or summer camp. The duties of a child care provider maybe set forth by state regulation, rule, ordinance or law. There may also be administrative recommendations, standards, and requirements for playground safety that are set forth by the agency regulating the school, day care center, or summer camp.
The book - The ABCs of Child Injury - Legal Rights of the Injured Child - What Every Parent Should Know - has chapters on Sports Related Injuries, School Injuries, Day Care Center Injuries, Playground Injuries, and other topics. You can get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.
It is estimated that emergency rooms treat in excess of 200,000 children under the age of 14 annually for playground related personal injuries. Here are some basic tips that can help prevent and / or reduce the incidents of injuries on playgrounds:
- Before allowing the children to play, the playground area and equipment should inspected by the supervising adult / child care provider.
- Make sure that the ground surface is well maintained and has some kind of shock absorbing surface like mulch, shredded tires, etc. . .
- Make sure that the playground equipment is used for its intended use.
- Discourage and discipline students for rough and dangerous play.
- Make sure that the playground is age appropriate for the children.
You can read additional safety tips at Playground Injuries and Safety Tips.