from Pediatric Academic Societies
In general, caregivers do a good job of
supervising their children on playgrounds.
But parents who take their children to the
playground and then pull out their phone to
send a quick text or check email may be
partially related to more than two hundred
thousand children injured each year on
playgrounds. Researchers reported to the
Pediatric Academic Societies annual
meeting they watched caregivers and
children at playgrounds. Caregivers were
distracted to some extent during seventyfour
percent of the two-minute intervals.
Cell phones accounted for about one-third
of the distractions. Talking with other
adults another one-third, while the rest of
the distractions included eating, drinking,
reading and other activities. Children
whose caregivers were distracted were
more likely to engage in risky behaviors.