AN investigation has been launched into the safety of play equipment at Millbrook Park after a young girl broke both arms following a “terrifying fall” this weekend.
The eight-year-old was left requiring surgery after breaking both arms whilst climbing at the park in St Lawrence on Sunday 5 October.
Her mother, Kallen-Fay Le Liard, said that her daughter had a “terrifying fall from height”.
“I couldn’t move her as with how much pain she was in,” she said. “I thought she had broken more bones in her body.
“I had my hand under her face to stop the wood chip from digging into her skin as I kept her body still waiting 20 minutes for an ambulance to come and take her to the hospital.
“She asked me if she was going to die.”
The mother called for a safety net to be installed underneath the equipment at Millbrook Park to prevent the same thing from happening to other children.
She said: “There is no reason why there cannot be an extra couple of bars either side of the top section or a bit of netting to help prevent other injuries like this.
“It doesn’t need to stop other children from climbing, exploring and having fun but would prevent them from being able to fall from such a height.”
When contacted about the concerns, Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said: “We have been made aware through social media of a safety incident at Coronation Park and we’re launching an investigation.
“Public safety is our priority, and we are working to understand what happened. Our thoughts are with the child affected and we wish them a speedy recovery.”
The Coronation Park climbing frame, which was installed last summer, features an open gap in the middle for children to climb over.
Deputy Louise Doublet, who studied risky play and risk-taking behaviours in children and adolescents as a former primary school teacher, said it is “necessary for healthy child development”.
She explained: “Whilst adults should not encourage risk-taking in children, and should be mindful of the difference between risk and danger, risky play is and should be a natural part of childhood. It is necessary for healthy child development.
“If we remove all risk from children’s play spaces the result is that children do not have the same opportunities to build resilience, problem-solving skills, and ways of engaging with peers during play that build their social skills.”
Deputy Doublet added: “Research shows that children who are prevented from accessing reasonable and appropriate risky play opportunities will go on to take more negative risks as adolescent such as shoplifting.”
