Oxford mom wants safer playground materials
OXFORD – A McDonough mom is pushing the Oxford Academy and Central School District to remove what she says is a harmful playground surface after her 12-year-old son was injured behind the middle school last month.
Ann-Margaret Simpson’s son, Bryon, a fifth grader at Oxford Primary, stumbled forward getting off a swing set April 18 and upon breaking his fall in the surrounding mulch, was stabbed by a 4-inch piece of wood in the right hand.
Simpson wants the district to replace the wood mulch, used at both the middle and primary schools, with sand or shredded rubber, she told Superintendent Randall Squier and the Board of Education Monday.
“Mulch is supposed to be thin, fine thread wood,” said Simpson, pointing out a number of roughly four- and five-inch shards on the ground where her son was injured. “This is not.”
Bryon underwent one and a half hours of surgery at Chenango Memorial Hospital to remove the piece from his hand. He also recently completed two weeks of whirlpool and physical therapy at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton.
“I put my hands out to break my fall. When I got up, I went to wipe the wood pieces off my hands. I realized it was inside of my hand,” said Bryon, who said he is fearful younger children might sustain worse injuries if nothing changes. “I could picture a two-year-old running and tripping and getting one in the eye or something like that.”
Squier said the school is currently looking into the prices and feasibility of putting down rubberized playground surface material. A final decision whether or not to replace the wood mulch, however, has not been determined.
“We’re not to that point yet,” said Squier. “Right now we’re seeing what all our options are.”
When ordered, the material used at the middle and primary school was specified as safe, sanitized playground mulch, Squier added.
Simpson has contacted legislators and hopes a state law is developed that won’t allow the type of mulch that injured her son to be used where children play. “The risk of injury is too great,” she said.
Assemblyman Cliff Crouch (R-Guilford) said Thursday morning he would look into the possibility of designing a regulation that would prevent harmful materials from being used on playgrounds.
Simpson also said she would organize fundraisers to go toward new playground surfaces at the schools.
“You’ll never find something that will absolutely protect a child,” she said. “But you don’t have to have something down that will kill them.”
Nationwide there are 200,000 playground injuries each year, according to National Center for Disease Control and Prevention. About 45 percent of those injuries are severe – fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations.
Ann-Margaret Simpson’s son, Bryon, a fifth grader at Oxford Primary, stumbled forward getting off a swing set April 18 and upon breaking his fall in the surrounding mulch, was stabbed by a 4-inch piece of wood in the right hand.
Simpson wants the district to replace the wood mulch, used at both the middle and primary schools, with sand or shredded rubber, she told Superintendent Randall Squier and the Board of Education Monday.
“Mulch is supposed to be thin, fine thread wood,” said Simpson, pointing out a number of roughly four- and five-inch shards on the ground where her son was injured. “This is not.”
Bryon underwent one and a half hours of surgery at Chenango Memorial Hospital to remove the piece from his hand. He also recently completed two weeks of whirlpool and physical therapy at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton.
“I put my hands out to break my fall. When I got up, I went to wipe the wood pieces off my hands. I realized it was inside of my hand,” said Bryon, who said he is fearful younger children might sustain worse injuries if nothing changes. “I could picture a two-year-old running and tripping and getting one in the eye or something like that.”
Squier said the school is currently looking into the prices and feasibility of putting down rubberized playground surface material. A final decision whether or not to replace the wood mulch, however, has not been determined.
“We’re not to that point yet,” said Squier. “Right now we’re seeing what all our options are.”
When ordered, the material used at the middle and primary school was specified as safe, sanitized playground mulch, Squier added.
Simpson has contacted legislators and hopes a state law is developed that won’t allow the type of mulch that injured her son to be used where children play. “The risk of injury is too great,” she said.
Assemblyman Cliff Crouch (R-Guilford) said Thursday morning he would look into the possibility of designing a regulation that would prevent harmful materials from being used on playgrounds.
Simpson also said she would organize fundraisers to go toward new playground surfaces at the schools.
“You’ll never find something that will absolutely protect a child,” she said. “But you don’t have to have something down that will kill them.”
Nationwide there are 200,000 playground injuries each year, according to National Center for Disease Control and Prevention. About 45 percent of those injuries are severe – fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations.
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