Posted on 09/01/2010 1:49:14 PM PDT by MissTed
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.
Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.
Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart said Wednesday that a lot of parents are accusing him of being un-American, but he says the cost of maintaining a safe surface is too expensive.
Stewart says a lawsuit in the past year involved a youngster who broke his arm jumping off a swing like Superman. It was settled for $20,000.
Other equipment such as monkey bars will remain. Stewart says the schools are able to maintain the proper protection underneath them.
Pretty soon all school play will revolve around playing Mime in a seated position.
(Well, until someone sues...)
Shoosh, I guess “Bag-O-Glass” will be removed as well? Don’t you just love lawyers? Somebody does something stupid and gets rewarded for it.
I resent the fact that my medical insurance insisted on finding the church legally culpable.
What happened to motherhood and fatherhood in this society? Who DIDN’T play on a swing as a child?
Isn’t there some way to counter sue this lawyers and leeches of our nation? Some way, even if it involves twisting the law to an obscene level?
The initial impulse is to blame the school as being overly protective on something like this but this isn’t the school’s fault. Parents have gotten sue-happy and if little Johnny falls off the swing and breaks his leg, you can bet a lawsuit is coming.
When I was a kid—years ago—I can think of several kids who broke bones juming off swings or on the monkey bars. I know dozens—myself included—who hurt themselves on the playground. I can’t think of one parent who sued then.
And people wonder why kids are obese these days. SHEESH.
*Pretty soon all school play will revolve around playing Mime in a seated position.*
It’s racist...all the mimes are white!
When I was a kid there was an amazing playground with all manner of swings, slides, climbing structures (concrete ships, castles, etc.) It’s gone now. Killed by lawsuits. The lawyers are killing childhood.
And by the way, the primary culprit isn’t a lawyer—its the parent. Lawyers can’t sue without a client. Parents have bought into the new American “something for nothing” culture where if your kid gets hurt, there has to be someone to blame and, of course, sue.
If kids never get banged up there is something wrong with them to begin with.
Used to be the Atlanta public schools had immunity against this sort of thing. Good thing, too, because the grounds were distressed, eroded, exposing drain pipes and big tree stumps. Rather, our Atlanta City taxes went to pay for big purple hats and cadillacs.
The poor durn kids will have to wheel around in a habitrail ball with a helmet on for recess
A most bizarre phenomenon around here...all the parents in a neighborhood drive their kids INDIVIDUALLY 200 yds down the road to the bus stop and watch the kids board the bus. The reverse sequence takes place each afternoon. In addition the bus stops every 200 ft.
Mind you, this is in a semi-rural area with zero crime.
Why is Johnny fat? Because he doesn’t walk anywhere! In addition his parents treat him like the Last Emperor.
and here I just taught my 5 yr old HOW to properly jump out of a swing...
I used to jump off the swings at my elementary schools. We had bark to land in. Slivers galore for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. We also had metal slides, metal monkey bars, a big concrete “T” (like for sewers) to run through and climb on, other things to climb on, and basketball courts, we had a big grass field where we, as a class, played Red Rover, soccer, football (flag), baseball, kickball, softball, tag, had snowball fights (approved by the school admin), and three recesses a day to expend pent-up energy (one mid-morning, one as part of lunch, and one mid-afternoon).
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