The Most Unsafe of All the Playground Equipment': Schools in One Town Are Nixing an Iconic Childhood Activity

Schools in one Washington town are getting rid of an apparent death trap: swings.

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Schools in Richland, Washington, will soon be swing-free, KEPR-TV reported, as school administrators worry that children walking by could get whacked in the head by the feet of their swinging peers.

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

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet noted that roughly 200,000 children visit the emergency room each year with playground injuries, and the report pegged swings as the No. 1 cause of injury on home playgrounds.

Still, at least some people said swings are a natural part of childhood, danger or no.

"They were our great joy and we all played on them," Richland resident Gail Thorricellas told KEPR. "I truly can't remember anyone being hurt."

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