Indoor Playground Update

Last week, the state came to inspect our new indoor playground. Although the equipment exceeded all of the safety guidelines required, TDPFS has issued a new regulation that prohibits children under the age of 5 years from playing on self-contained soft play structures located inside state regulated schools. Of course, no one was aware of this new rule since it is not located in print ANYWHERE... including our minimum standards handbook or the TDPFS childcare regulations website. However, I have been told that it is a new ruling and all schools that have these types of structures are being notified of the new regulations and they are not being granted and tme to comply. In fact, failure to comply will lead to having your variance to use the equipment rescinded and the state will require the equipment be removed. I have been all over the net looking for data to support this decision. The only study that I can find relating to this type of equipment was done in 1995. During the 6 month research period, there were 17 injuries and 1 death reported. Of course, the death and the majority of the injuries were sustained in ball pits. We all know the dangers of ball pits now and most retail establishments with these structure have removed those elements. Here is the link. http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/foia02/os/scpe.PDF Please forward me any additional information that you may have. Conversly, the data that I have collected regarding injuries and deaths on outdoor play equipment is staggering. In 2004, over 200,ooo children were treated for injuries sustained on playground equipment. The majority resulted from falls. That is the benefit of self-contained play equipment.... low fall zones, ours are less that 2 feet. I have included another link. http://www.kdheks.gov/safekids/downloads/factsheets/Playground.pdf Of course, everything is as safe as you make it, supervision is the key!