New Dog Teaches New Tips

as appearing in: Recreation Management

Ideas and Solutions for Facility Managers

First, Smokey the Bear cautioned only we could prevent forest fires. Then, Woodsy the Owl instructed us to give a hoot and not pollute. In recent years, McGruff the Crimedog has urged us to take a bite out of crime.

Now, SLYDE® the Playground Hound hopes to emulate the safety trio’s iconic status.

Idaho resident Curtis Stoddard created SLYDE® as an entertaining way to teach children about playground safety. A member of the National Playground Contractor’s Association, Stoddard has spent the last 18 years installing playground equipment.

As he tracked changes in industry safety standards over the years, Stoddard realized no one was addressing a key player in providing playground well-being: the children. Even if the construction requirements became stricter and the materials more user-friendly, he believes playgrounds still posed a danger if kids aren’t taught how to avoid potential problems.

“Playground manufacturers have spent millions of dollars and have created rigid standards to ensure the safest possible play structures for our children,” Mitch Brian, Playground Hound marketing manager says. “One thing that hasn’t been done is there has never been a concentrated effort to make kids more aware.”

Roughly 200,000 preschoolers and children visit hospital emergency rooms for treatment of injuries sustained on playground equipment, according to the consumer Product Safety Commission. Seventy percent of the injuries, or about 140,000, are classified as severe, meaning they include traumas such as fractures, internal injuries, dislocation, amputations and crushes.

“The statistics speak for themselves,” Stoddard says. We send out kids off to the playground and we expect them to come back. Well, last year, 17 kids didn’t come back, and that is tragic.”

To spare further tragedies, Stoddard created SLYDE®, a floppy-eared cartoon mutt who sort of looks like McGruff’s kinder, gentler nephew. He gave SLYDE® both a personality and a story to appeal to children.

According to legend, SLYDE® was a frequent visitor to his local park, where he would frolic with the kids and play on the equipment. One day, he climbed to the top of a slide and prepared to go down the slippery chute. His leash, however, became tangled around the apparatus, and he nearly choked.

Fortunately, an adult came to SLYDE®’s aid and saved him from an early appearance in doggie heaven. A grateful SLYDE® has since dedicated himself to helping children avoid similar tragedies. He tells them he survived, but more than a dozen children each year aren’t so lucky.

Stoddard has packaged SLYDE®’s message in a curriculum that can be purchased by local schools and park districts. Geared toward students in kindergarten through third grade, the classroom kit includes a storybook, puzzle, board game, and worksheets.

Students receive SLYDE® stickers, patches and coloring books. The packet also includes a teacher’s guide and a 42-page copy of the CPSC guidelines for playground safety.

SLYDE® offers catchy phrases to remind children of the dangers around the playground. For example, two of his biggest safety concerns are hooded jackets and sweatshirts. The apparel easily can get wrapped around the apparatus and present a choking hazard similar to SLYDE®’s leash. As such, the playground hound tells students with hooded clothing to either “tuck it in or take it off” when playing.

“If we can save one child from dying or being seriously injured, we’ve done a wonderful thing,” Stoddard says.

The kit also includes playground signs to remind children of the safety lessons once they go outside. With enough exposure, his marketing team believes SLYDE® could become the next icon of American safety.

“I remember as a boy, learning from Smokey and Woodsy,” Brian says. “I think SLYDE® will be just as influential, if not more so.”

For more information on the SLYDE® the Playground Hound program, call 800-388-2196 or visit www.playgroundhound.com.