Woods Hole Preschool May Lose Playground To Governmental Insanity

CapeNews.net – Staff and parents at the Woods Hole Child Center preschool are distressed by new regulations that will require changes to their playground. The more rigorous safety requirements are being promulgated by the Massachusetts department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

The center’s two swing sets and stand-alone slide, both situated over sand, are no longer in compliance with new “fall zone” height and substrate requirements. Previously, sand under a six-foot high structure was acceptable; under the new regulations, only structures of four feet are allowed over sand.

“If we wish to keep our swings and slide, we will be forced to unfavorably alter the character of our playground by moving them onto wood chips or some other approved surface, which have the potential to lead to more problems and accidents,” the letter reads.

Clayton Jones, an engineer and the Woods Hole Child Center’s maintenance chairman, has argued that wood chips are better habitat for ticks and mosquitoes, which carry their own health risks. He also rejected shredded rubber tires as an appropriate playground medium, citing studies that tire mulch releases harmful chemicals into the air and groundwater.

“Sand is good; it’s fine, that’s all I can say,” Anne Clarkin, director of the Woods Hole Child Center, said in a phone interview. “We hope commonsense will prevail.”

Am I taking crazy pills or is this the most batshit thing you’ve ever heard? Why is it better for a child to land on wood chips after falling six feet than it is for them to fall on sand? Did they do some study somewhere and throw children off of 6′ slides onto different surfaces? If I’m standing on a 6′ tall platform and I am forced to dive off head first I am choosing sand as my landing area every single time. Last thing I need is a 4 inch cedar splinter in my face.

This is a perfect example of when government gets too big. Some douche probably cost the taxpayers millions of dollars researching and developing these useless regulations. Are you telling me that some dude in an office somewhere has a better sense of child playground safety than preschool teachers that watch a bunch of kids actually play on playgrounds every single day?

Next thing you know they’ll come out with some regulation that says preschool teachers  have to stop letting the children smoke crack before nap time because it affects their sleep. I mean it’s obvious these teachers don’t know what’s good for the kids so we better tie up all the loose ends right?

I hope whoever came up with this crap gets Lyme disease after getting bitten by a deer tick while digging their kid out from the wood chip pile below the 6′ slide the little prick falls off of at summer camp this year.