Swings are branded too dangerous for Washington State school district

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last updated 8 January 2015

Yes, elementary schools in Richland, Washington, are bidding farewell to the venerable swing set. The Richland school district is removing the swings from elementary school playgrounds because they are too dangerous — or to be precise, too injurious for the district's insurance companies. And swing sets are probably more dangerous than you realized: About 200,000 kids in the U.S. go to the emergency room each year from swing-related playground injuries, The Associated Press reports, usually from walking in front of or behind a swing in motion.

"It's just really a safety issue," district spokesman Steve Aagard tells KEPR News. "Swings have been determined to be the most unsafe of all the playground equipment." Some parents are supportive of the move to take out the menacing insurance liabilities. Others remember the joy of learning to pump and soar high in the air — and also perhaps the important life lessons from the bumps and scrapes of childhood. Richland is in south-central Washington, west of Walla Walla.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.