Buddy Up - Always play on the playground with a friend

Luckily, this story is about the one that ALMOST happened.

If you are not familiar with the story of Slyde the Playground Hound, you may wonder what he has around his neck. Is it a collar? Is it a necklace? Is it a scar? Yes! It is a scar. From first story book buy now in which children are introduced to Slyde the Playground Hound, they learn that Slyde has a near-death experience but is saved by luck and by chance. And, because he does live to see another day, Slyde grows up to share his near-death experience with children everywhere.

Sometimes it’s the thing that does not happen that is cause for celebration. This was the case for Slyde and it is certainly the case for a brother and sister that were playing alone on a neighborhood playground near their home in North Logan, Utah on a wintery morning (November 2011). The children had brought along their sleds to play on the newly fallen snow when 6-year-old Londyn Metivier decided it would be fun to ride their sleds down the slippery-slide on the playground. 

In a news report from the Herald Journal, HJNews.com reported, “During one of Londyn’s runs, the rope on her plastic sled got caught on the playground equipment and wrapped around her neck, virtually hanging her from the slide.” read the whole story

Roman Metiveir, Londyn’s 8-year-old brother, saw what had happened and tried to grab the sled and turn it sideways to ease the tension, but his sister was unable to get her footing so she could climb back up the slide. Her neck continued to be caught in the rope until her brother was eventually able to free her from strangling.

The story of Slyde the Playground Hound has a happy ending. Londyn and Roman’s story has a happy ending as well. They ran home in tears to tell their parents what “almost” happened. Roman Metiveir is a modern day hero for saving his sisters life.

The ending of Slyde’s story is really just the beginning of a life-long love for children and a promise he has made to help keep them safe. And, the scar around his neck is a reminder of the unfortunate thing the ALMOST happened.

Slyde is dedicated to helping children meet life’s challenges at school, at home, and at play. He teaches children to take an active role in their own well-being by teaching them to be aware of and respond to potential dangers in healthy ways. 

According to the National Playground Safety Institute, the lack of supervision is associated with 45 percent of all (both public and residential) playground-related injuries. follow link Londyn Metiveir’s experience supports this statistic; she and her brother Roman were the only people at the playground. They were playing without adult supervision.  

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gathers data about playground-related injuries including actual fatalities. While death is rare, only 40 deaths reported from 2001 to 2008, the average age of the victims was 6-years-old. The Metiveir family is very grateful their child Londyn will not be included in this statistic. 

While it is true that under proper supervision many mishaps and potentially dangerous situations could be avoided, there is a fine line between allowing children the opportunity to play for the sake of playing, on their own terms and in their own way. It begs the question, should the parents of Londyn and Roman have allowed them to play unsupervised? (Your comments are welcome).

One thing we know for sure, there’s a new rule in the Meteiveir family: snow sleds stay on the ground.

And remember what Slyde says: “Buddy-up! Always go to the playground with a friend.” We’re sure glad Londyn did. (can we have a LARGE pic of SLYDE finger pointing and saying this in the bubble?)

Hey kids, take the “Who’s ready for the playground?” challenge. Click and print this worksheet.