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Handbook for Playground Safety <br />• Avoid equipment with ropes that are not secured at both <br />ends. <br />• The following label can be placed near/on slides or other <br />equipment where potential entanglements may occur. <br />1 �����iiii�/%%/%%///%%%%%%% <br />ifs; <br />Children have died when drawstrings <br />on their clothing caught on slides or <br />other playground equipment. <br />Remove hood and neck drawstrings <br />from children's clothing before <br />ichildren <br />play on a playground. <br />I <br />J <br />Remove scarves and mittens <br />connected through the sleeves. <br />3.3 Entrapment <br />3.3.1 Head entrapment <br />Head entrapment is a serious concern on playgrounds, since <br />it could lead to strangulation and death. A child's head may <br />become entrapped if the child enters an opening either feet <br />first or head first. Head entrapment by head -first entry gen- <br />erally occurs when children place their heads through an <br />opening in one orientation, turn their heads to a different <br />orientation, then are unable to get themselves out. Head <br />entrapment by feet first entry involves children who general- <br />ly sit or lie down and slide their feet into an opening that is <br />large enough to permit their bodies to go through but is not <br />large enough to permit their heads to go through. A part or <br />a group of parts should not form openings that could trap a <br />child's head. Also, children should not wear their bicycle <br />helmets while on playground equipment. There have been <br />recent head entrapment incidents in which children wearing <br />their bicycle helmets became entrapped in spaces that would <br />not normally be considered a head entrapment. <br />Certain openings could present an entrapment hazard if the <br />distance between any interior opposing surfaces is greater <br />than 3.5 inches and less than 9 inches. These spaces should <br />be tested as recommended in Appendix B. When one <br />dimension of an opening is within this range, all dimensions <br />of the opening should be considered together to evaluate the <br />possibility of entrapment. Even openings that are low <br />enough for children's feet to touch the ground can present a <br />risk of strangulation for an entrapped child. (See Figure 4). <br />Younger children may not have the necessary intellectual <br />ability or motor skills to reverse the process that caused their <br />heads to become trapped, especially if they become scared or <br />panicked. <br />Figure 4. Examples of entrapment below a barrier and between the vertical bars of a barrier. <br />14 <br />