From the editor.

As an adventurous little girl, I loved pushing my local playground to its limits. I'd spin the merry-go-round as fast as it would go, head down the slide face first, and if there was a way to jump from something, I would. This all came to an end when I was in fourth grade. As I was on the swingset, I jumped off my swing, trying to land an Olympic-style dismount. But, my jacket caught on the chain of the swing and instead of a perfect 10, I walked away with a perfectly broken arm.

As we celebrate National Playground Safety month, I hope park and recreation managers will take this opportunity to examine their own playgrounds for hazardous areas and play equipment. NRPA's National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) also provides training, and is an excellent resource for park managers or citizens looking for help in creating a safer play environment (For more information, visit www.nrpa.org/npsi).

I also hope that agencies and citizens who use playgrounds will enjoy our special focus on playgrounds in this issue. Readers can learn about playgrounds in war-torn Afghanistan, how to better design playgrounds in an urban environment and the growing concerns of alternatives to CCA-treated wood.

As I learned many years ago, a safe playground can make a huge difference in the lives of children--it can mean hours of fun, or hours spent in a cast.