Injury risks in Children’s Games

A day at the park can be fun for all the family, but be sure to watch out for these hazards:

- Broken playground equipment - This can include rusty handlebars and swings with loose chains.

- Dangerous Litter - This can be left by gangs of older children, and includes bottles, cans, broken glass, and even used syringes.

- Poor surface maintenance - Potholes, loose paving stones, misplaced bricks and stones.

- Water dangers - Many playgrounds have a duck pond or water feature. Never leave small children unattended by the water, even if it seems shallow.

- Dangerous animals - in parkland, dogs are often let off their leads. Even friendly dogs can knock a child over or injure them with sticks; an illegal breed of dangerous dog can do terrible damage.

- Cycles and Scooters- many people ride their bikes in parks - but many forget to use their bells. Always look for riders when crossing the pathways.

Many children play with friends outside their houses. The games they play are often British traditions, passed down from generation to generation: tiggy, hopscotch or kiss catch. Yet with more cars on our roads than ever before, playing games on the streets can be a safety risk, and frequently leads to accidents. According to the Child Accident Prevention Trust, most injuries from games in the street happen through:

- Traffic accidents - Kids are vulnerable to being hit by cars whilst playing games. They are often distracted and don't pay full attention to the road. Even on quiet streets this can be fatal, as a car travelling at 5mph can kill a child.

- Crime - Playing outside the house increases the risk of mugging, assault, and abduction. For teenagers, knife and gun crime is a worrying risk. Over the last decade these crimes have risen by over 110%.

- Trips and Falls - taking a tumble can lead to some nasty injuries. Most children escape unhurt, but some break their arms, legs or sustain serious head injuries through falling onto the road, or hitting the curb as they fall.

- Dangerous games- whilst most games children play are innocent, some can be very dangerous. Rope swings, playing 'chicken' on train tracks and tombstoning (jumping off cliffs into rivers or the ocean) are examples of games that children can be pressured into playing, but can end in tragedy.

Playtime is a key part of a child's growth, but accidents do happen. Parents should make sure that young children have correct supervision and that teenagers know important safety rules like the Highway Code, to reduce their risk of serious injury whilst at play.