Safer Play Areas: Popular play areas found...

Safer Play Areas: Popular play areas found at many shopping malls and restaurants provide a safer form of entertainment for frolicking children than traditional outdoor playgrounds, the government has concluded. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the use of padded floors and tubes large enough for children to crawl through safely reduces the risk of serious injury. Falls to the ground typically cause 60% of the injuries at traditional playgrounds, the agency said. But the commission was concerned about slides that empty into large pits of small balls. A 13-year-old boy who buried himself in a ball bin died last year after children using the slide landed on top of him.