Title: Theme Parks
Author: Christie Barnes
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Article:

What’s the best way to protect your child from serious injury at a theme park?

Replace the coke they’re pleading for with water.

That’s right. 

It’s not keeping your child off the max-thrills Viper or putting off their first theme park visit till they’re eight or nine. The truth is your child is more likely to wind up at an emergency room for heat exhaustion and dehydration than an injury caused by a ride.  I promise you.           

 It’s not that I didn’t use to worry. When my oldest daughter was 5 ½  and my triplets were under the age of 3, the idea of taking them to an amusement park would turn me into a wreck.

Like many parents, I worried about a terrible accident occurring, or losing one of them in the crowd, or that a child predator might be amongst the thousands of strangers allowed in the park the day of my family’s visit.

I shouldn’t have. According to data I found and aggregated, the odds of your child getting hurt on a ride are 1 in 2 million. That’s a pretty calming statistic.

It’s true that laws governing reporting of such incidents vary widely, that some states don’t require theme parks to compile data at all, and that an organization comprised of insurance companies and law firms calculate as many as 140 deaths of people of all ages in any given year.

But according to statistics released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, amusement park rides account for four deaths a year—that’s out of 270 million theme park attendees.           

While data released in 2003 by Safe Kids Worldwide indicated that 7200 children out of the 270 million attendees are treated every year for ride injuries.  Those numbers include bouncy castles and rusty fair rides but there plenty of simple ways you can keep your child safe in a theme park, avert unnecessary worrying and free yourself to just have a great time with your kids.

1. Don’t just follow ride height requirements, consider whether your child is old enough to be on a ride. If your child is tall for his or her age, wait till their maturity matches the ride experience.
2. Don’t force a child into a ride he or she is frightened of. They may panic and attempt to jump off the ride while it is in motion.
3. Tell your children what you expect from them. For instance, no extraneous moving around while the ride is moving. Rocking cars has resulted in doors opening, children falling, and/or seat belts becoming unfastened. In addition, it’s fun to yell and express yourself, but keep arms and legs in the car.
4. Don’t let your children release a seat belt or stand on a moving ride. According to the CDC, most accidents occur when inebriated 20-something males stand up on roller coasters.
5. If a ride looks poorly maintained or contains one or more cars that are out of order, don’t take it. The exterior condition of the ride bodes worse for what’s hidden.  Rickety fair ground rides just are not the calibre of high tech maintenance of today's super theme parks.
6. Use this to help curb your fears: statistics demonstrate that theme park rides are actually safer than the bouncy castles and other inflatables. It’s alright to let your children play in such environments but always ensure that ride isn’t overcrowded and/or that the other children in it are your child’s age.
7. Keep your child hydrated. Curtail cokes and other sodas with high caffeine contents. Replace with water.