City and County of Broomfield Public Information Office
One DesCombes Drive · Broomfield, CO 80020 · (303) 438-6308

Media Release

September 12, 2002

Media Contact:

Rosann Doran
Public Information Officer
303.438.6308

Michelle Liebig
Broomfield Health & Human Services
720. 887.2216

Back to School Safety Reminders

It’s back to school time, and families are inundated with the usual back to school information.

Broomfield Health and Human Services has some more! According to John Pickle, Broomfield’s public health officer, residents can find a variety of information, including pedestrian and playground safety, stranger safety, bus safety and backpack health, at the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Library.

The information will be available through Sept. 20 for adults and children, and is provided by the Broomfield Health and Human Services Department, the Broomfield Police Department and North Metro Fire Rescue District.

Of particular interest to parents are pedestrian and playground safety, Pickle said. Pedestrian deaths rank as the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in Colorado. Nearly a quarter of the hospitalizations involve children under 14, Pickle said.

Parents can play a key role in saving their children from this unwanted injury or possible death by following and teaching children a few simple rules.

Children under the age of 10 should never cross a street alone.

Adults should accompany children as they walk to and from school or encourage children to walk in groups.

Children should be taught how to and the importance of using streetlights and crosswalks.

Parents should teach children how to cross a street. They should be taught to STOP at the edge of the curb or road, then look left, look right, then left again for moving cars. Children should be encouraged to keep looking left and right until they are safely across the street. Never not stop in the street and always walk swiftly.

Parents can set an example by practicing these rules on a daily basis when walking to the park, or in a parking lot at the grocery store, etc. To make sure children understand the lesson, parents should ask them to identify any unsafe behaviors they see by other children or grown-ups and then repeat the correct behavior.

More than 200,000 children are seen at the hospital emergency room due to playground-related injuries each year in the United States. Some safety precautions that parents and school staff can take to prevent these injuries include:

Make sure that surfaces around the playground equipment have at least 12 inches of an approved, safety-tested material such as pea gravel, wood chips, safety mats or sand. Protective surfaces should extend at least 6 feet in all directions of the play equipment.

Play structures that are more than 30 inches high should have guardrails to prevent falls.

Spaces that could trap children should measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.

Routinely check the playground for tripping hazards, sharp or protruding edges and make sure the play equipment is kept in good repair.

Supervise children while they play.

For additional information, contact the Health and Human Services Department at 720-887-2200.