Swings: A Sky's Pendulum

Back when I was a kid, my dad's idea of teaching me how to ride a two-wheeler bike for the first time was shoving me down a hill, armed with my helmet and knee pads. Bruises, cuts, bleeding, imagine how scary that was for me. Thankfully I survived. Looking back, I injured myself quite often, but luckily never to the point of breaking or fracturing a bone. When I cut the back of my hand on a door hinge and bled profusely until I thought I was going to die, my mom put a Band-Aid on it, exclaimed it was no big deal and will one day see it become a battle scar. Instead of creating an imaginary safety bubble around the little silly me, they taught me that by falling, I can learn to get back up again.

Picture taken from Pictures On Life

Growing up almost next door to a playground, naturally I frequented it as much as I was permitted. Never mind snow or shine, hot or cold, I never missed the chance to feel like a wild monkey swinging freely in the jungle. When I fell off the monkey bars, I got back up again. When I tried climbing the slide and fell, I would just get back up again. From what I can remember, I'd have to say I spent quite  a lot of my childhood passing time and making new friends on the playground. If you asked me ten years ago what my favourite apparatus was, I would've said the swings. If you asked me now, my answer would still be the same. To me, the swing was, and still is, a ladder to Heaven--something that can get me as close as possible to the limitless sky. I wanted to touch the clouds; I wanted to soar like a bird when I jumped off the swing at its highest peak.

So visualize my disbelief when I heard on the radio that schools are eradicating swing sets from school playgrounds. Furthermore, the reasoning behind the annihilation of my childhood delight is rather tormenting, tearing my broken heart into two. According to Komo News, schools in Richland, Washington, have banned swing sets in the wake of a tragic death of 7-year old Vancouver Stormy Solis, who died due to a closed head injury after falling off the school playground's swing set. When her brother found her sick in her bedroom, she was immediately rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. After transferring hospitals, she was taken off life support three days later.

I don't know how to say it in a way which doesn't make me seem like a morally heartless creature of the dark underworld, but I think it's preposterous that swing sets are being banned. Not in the slightest am I discounting Stormy's death, I just don't think it is necessary to banish swing sets completely from school playgrounds. It's not just myself, but I am sure a lot of children will profoundly miss the swings when they no longer cease to exist. I taught in an elementary before, and supervising lunch time, I notice the joy kids have when they compete to see who can pump their swings the highest, or at recess when they race to see who gets to the swings first.

Aside from the district's claim that part of the reason was due to pressure from insurance companies over the liability, here is a direct quote from Richland School District's Steve Aagard:

As schools get modernized or renovated or as we're doing work on the playground equipment, we'll take out the swings. It's just really a safety issue; swings have been determined to be the most unsafe of all the playground equipment on a playground.

False. I did a little research on my own and found that at least 29 000 children younger than 15 years of age are admitted to the hospital for treatment due to playground injuries. Of all the injuries, up to 75% of them are sustained by falls, however, falls from climbing incur the most, compared to swings or slides. Given those statistics, wouldn't it make more sense to take away the climbing structures instead of swings? Looking a little further, 11% of injuries are from impact with obstacles, 8% from a body part being cut or pinched, and 1% from entrapment. With that being said, should we remove playgrounds in general because it's justified unsafe for children under 15? Should we have adult playgrounds for those over 18?

Back to Stormy, the article from Komo News also indicated that no teachers were aware of Stormy's fall, nor did she notify any teachers of her incident. It wasn't until she was home that she felt dizzy and informed her parents. Now, my question is WHERE WERE THE SUPERVISORS WHEN THIS TRAGIC EVENT HAPPENED? What Stormy still be alive had a teacher been present and sent her to the hospital immediately?

The bottom line is: swings are dangerous, I get it, and I don't disagree! Of course injuries will collect, and of course kids will get hit by swings (rather stupidly I must say, if they decide it's fun to walk in front of a swing in motion). The fact of matter is: People, accidents can happen anywhere, at any given time. Can I get some hands up on that? I give myself paper cuts all the time so should paper companies stop producing paper? The trees are saved! I trip on my own two feet so I shouldn't be walking! Or I clumsily fall down the stairs so elevator in every home!

In my honest opinion, kids are the most creative little humbugs alive, and I can guarantee that even if swings are taken out, they WILL find other ways to injure themselves until every single obstacle is eliminated from the face of this earth. And then we, humans, are confronted with bleak nothingness because this world is made up of objects that can turn deadly in the hands of young Padawans.

This whole situation has got me thinking; are children being sheltered too much in this time and age, or are they too spoiled? I don't know, I really don't because I'm no parents, and I can't put myself in their perspective. I'm fortunate no deaths have transpired, and I can't imagine what it would be like to have that happen, but as a twenty-something I'd like to believe I grew up fine (did I, did I really?) and I'm pretty sure the generations before mine did, too. My mom being the unique exception.

Nonetheless, gone are the days of feeling the wind whip through my hair. Gone are the days of reaching for the stars. My dearest playground best friend who bestowed me with hours of endless joy, may you graciously rest in peace.