Roosevelt Island Child Injured At Southtown Tot Lot Swing Set - RIOC Will Put Fence Up To Prevent Future Accidents
Southtown Tot LotFor some time now, the parents taking their children to Roosevelt Island's Southtown Tot Lot have been concerned that the non-fenced swing set could injure a passing child. That unfortunate event came to pass yesterday as described in this message to Rosina Abramson, RIOC's VP Of Planning & Inter-Governmental Affairs:
Hope all is well. As you know, I am the director of Island Kids, Inc an Island organization providing enrichment programming for toddlers. Today, a 2 1/2 year old child came to one of our classes with a bruised and swollen face (see attached pictures). While at the tot lot yesterday, he was hit in the face by a swing, despite the fact that his mother was right by his side. The pictures actually minimize the damage and had it occurred closer to his head, it could have been a tragic situation.
I know that Rachel Reid Chung has expressed her concerns about the lack of fencing around the swings and I think this recent event reiterates the importance of the situation. I hope that you will expedite the instillation of the fencing, which should include a gate with a latch. Thank you in advance for your response to this matter.
Sincerely,
Nikki Leopold
Executive Director
Island Kids, Inc.
Image of Wyatt After Being Hit By SwingMs. Abramson replied:
Your concerns are being forwarded to Public Safety and Engineering to expedite the alteration to the swing area. We will explore the possibility of temporarily dismantling the swings till the situation is remedied.and:
The fencing has been ordered and is due later this week. Swings will be immobilized until fencing is upMs. Leopold followed up:
Thank you so much for your quick response to all of this.Ms Abramson concludes:
Swings are temporarily immobilized until fence is fully installed, which should be by end of week.
Immobilized Southtown Tot Lot Swing SetHow is Wyatt? According to his Mom:
Dr. Grimm is seeing him tomorrow as I have noticed a hard mass under his jaw. The area is getting more red now and will take some more images in the morning. I have been afraid of this happening for the last 2 years, or rather since wyatt started crawling. I have been watching him like a hawk on the playground and was always worried about the swings. Luckily so far, he seems fine but we sure got lucky, it could have been his eye or his temple and that would have been a grave situation.
11 comments :
I feel sorry for the child and hope he'll be better soon, BUT... (I have three children on my own) a fence is not going to prevent these kind of incidents. Kids will still be able to run around within the fenced-off area. Such accidents unfortunately happen and cannot be prevented unless we continue the "sissification" of our playgrounds even more: remove swings altogether. I wish there were still playgrounds around that are actual fun (what happened to see-saws, for example)?
The bottom line is that the children still have to be supervised. This little boy, like many others, was accompanied by his mother - BUT SHE WASN'T WATCHING HIM. Parents & Guardians need to watch their kids - Fence or No Fence!
Agreed. Money schemes by the parent. Everyone is looking to hit "the lottery." It's really sad.
How DARE YOU accuse me of
1. not watching my child, you were not there, you do not know what happened. I was right next to my child when it happened just not fast enough to stop him. AND
2. What money schemes are you talking about. There is no money scheme, I am not suing anybody. SHAME ON YOU!!!
my friend's son died due to a fall in a "UNSISSIFIED" playground so it's obvious the sissified ones are better. You obviously do not have kids!
Thank you Nikki for taking this matter seriously in being so involved in the issue. You are a true gem to our community. Ama
I just hope the boy is ok and I'm sure the fence will help.
To the 2:17pm poster - I am sorry for your friend's loss. That said I guess we just have to agree to disagree. There are two approaches to this problem. I am a parent who thinks that it is my and only my responsibility to keep my child safe. Shit happens and there is always a very small chance that my child will be involved in a deadly accident. Such is life. No fence will prevent that. And I really don't see how a fence at the current toddler play ground will prevent accidents like this to happen. The other approach is to raise your child in a bubblewrap.
I don't really want to argue but it is scary to see how parenting in this country has evolved. The "sissification" link above links to an opinion that I am sharing.
Sad accident on swing sets. There is no ultimate way to prevent bad things happening. We need to learn what we lose. In this way, fence is good way to prevent such tragedy.
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