FACTS
- Children are more vulnerable to heat and cold stress than adults.
- Playground surfaces absorb and retain heat.
- Seasonal transitions increase slip and fall risk.
- Rapid weather changes create unpredictable hazards.
- Early intervention prevents serious injury.
STATS
- The U.S. CDC reports that children experience higher rates of heat-related illness during outdoor activity than adults.
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that playground surfaces can reach burn-causing temperatures in hot weather.
- Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injury among children in the U.S., with outdoor surfaces contributing significantly.
- Canadian injury surveillance shows increased emergency visits for child falls during winter and shoulder seasons.
- In Canada, extreme heat events have led to thousands of excess deaths in recent years, increasing awareness of heat risk in vulnerable populations, reported by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
