Richland School District Removing All Swing Sets, Has The World Gone Nuts?

Richland Wahington school district has replaced many playgrounds concrete foundations with cedar or rubber, swing sets are next.

Has the world gone nuts?  Doesn't scraping a knee or falling off a swing set teach a child a lesson about life's obstacles?  Touch a hot stove once, bet you don't do it again.  Removing all swing sets...really?!  What next?

The district says pressure from insurance companies over the liability is one of the main reason.  More injuries occur on swings sets than any other playground equipment.  Officials have removed many sets already and will eventually get around to removing all of them in the district.

"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," said Richland School District's Steve Aagard.

Each year it is reported that almost 200,000 children go to the emergency room due to swing related injuries.  However, the bulk of these injuries are not from being on the swing!  Most hospital visits are from children who have walked in front or behind someone swinging.

So wait a minute, because a child is not watching where he or she is going, ALL swing sets have to go?  Yet another reason for children to become sedentary and locked in a room with a computer that teaches them zero one on one communication skills or even worse BORED.  Way to go Richland!

[Via:  KPER]