BY MICHELE M. MELENDEZ
c.2006 Newhouse News Service

Play can hurt, even kill.

Parents of young children agonize over how much freedom to give their children on playgrounds. Running and swinging can lead to nasty falls. But a child at play explores and learns; and an active child is fit, not to mention ready for sleep at bedtime.

For at least the last decade, children have suffered around 200,000 injuries yearly on U.S. public and home playground equipment, according to government estimates. As National Playground Safety Week approaches this April 24-28, safety advocates insist many such mishaps are preventable.