make it across those monkey bars. But for all the happy childhood memories associated with playgrounds, those neighborhood gathering places present hazards of their own.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 200,000 children are treated each year in hospital emergency rooms for playground equipment-related injuries.

Amy Hill, a project manager at Children Memorial Hospital’s Injury Prevention and Research Center, said that figure is probably closer to half a million, because playground injuries are often difficult to accurately record. They can range from relatively mild cuts and splinters to serious bone fractures and even death.

Dr. Karen Sheehan, the medical director for the Injury-Free Coalition for Kids of Chicago, said the most common severe injury on playgrounds is the supracondylar fracture, when the bone around the elbow breaks.

"They’re not life-threatening, but they are limb-threatening," Sheehan said. "They can affect the functioning of the child’s arm."

Supracondylar fractures may require a pin or orthopedic surgery to restore full function to the arm, Sheehan, an emergency room physician, said. Depending on where the bone breaks, it can also impact the growth plate.

And the emotional blow of telling a child they can’t swim or go to camp or play sports for the summer can be equally difficult for doctor and patient alike.

"It’s really heartbreaking for everybody," Sheehan said. "It does have a really big impact. If they’re very active in sports, it can virtually ruin a little sports career."

She said supracondylar fractures usually occur when a child falls onto his or her outstretched arm. And since a fall of six feet onto a hard surface is equivalent to hitting a wall at 30 miles per hour, injuries naturally result, with as many as 70 percent occurring from a fall, Hill said.

Head injuries, although uncommon, can also result from a playground fall. But Hill said that parents who are tempted to let their child wear a bike helmet shouldn’t, because when the head is larger than the body, it can become more easily trapped in small spaces.

But there are other ways to prevent dangerous falls. It is important that all children, particularly the youngest and smallest, play on equipment that is appropriate for their size. Children between the ages of two and five should not be on anything that is taller than four feet, even if they say they want to play with "the big kids."

Hill also said that parents and caregivers should not hold children up to play on upper body equipment, like the monkey bars, until they have the physical strength to do it themselves.

"You don’t want them to fall from anything taller than they are," she said. "If they can’t climb up to it on their own, they shouldn’t do it."

The surfacing beneath the equipment should be adequate, so that if a child does fall, the drop will be cushioned. Hill said that any "loose fill," such as wood chips, should be 12 inches deep. If you can see concrete or standing water, the surfacing needs to be refilled or raked. And any rubber surfacing should be in good repair and not missing pieces.

Using common sense to check that the playground is in good shape is the main safety precaution parents and caregivers can take, Sheehan said. Make sure the equipment isn’t broken, missing pieces or has protruding hardware, and that there isn’t debris or broken glass in the general vicinity.

"If a playground doesn’t look like it’s been maintained, it probably hasn’t," Hill said.

Seemingly minor problems, such as unprotected nails and bolts, are typically what lead to playground-related deaths. When clothing gets caught on the hardware, it can strangle the child, causing asphyxiation and death.

Other serious hazards can be similarly hidden. Playground equipment manufactured before 1978 might contain lead, although it’s difficult to confirm without doing a lab test. Wooden playground equipment may contain chromate copper arsenate, known as CCA, a wood treatment agent that was banned from playground equipment in 2002.

Hill suggests taking practical measures to avoid the potential dangers of these environmental agents.

"I wouldn’t let kids’ mouths on any equipment," she said. "And wash your hands."

That type of active supervision from parents and caregivers is key to making sure that children are safe when playing on the equipment.

"You want the kids to be able to explore, but you also want to make sure [they] are safe," Sheehan said.

If you notice that your playground has any safety or environmental hazards, notify the owner or operator of the equipment, such as the recreation department, park district or school, so that repairs can be done. And if there are consistent safety problems, Hill says you should consider going to a different playground.

"We want children to grow up in safe neighborhood to reach their full potential," Sheehan said. "We need to create safe places to play."