Dangerous Structure Needs Regulation: The Childhood Tree House
A iconic American childhood activity could be headed for the same fate as the dodo bird if medical researchers get their way. Tree houses are the source of some 2,800 childhood injuries annually and should be regulated, the experts suggest.
“There are plenty of serious injuries if you look at any activity,” Lara McKenzie tells the Chicago Tribune. “But there are a lot of fractures and serious injuries from tree houses.” She is the lead author of a paper on the subject from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Alternatively, what the experts describe as commonsense measures could be voluntarily employed, according to the newspaper. They include not building a tree house more than 10 feet above the ground, placing a thick layer of mulch underneath the structure and using 38-inch-high barriers instead of guardrails.
