By definition, *something* is always the most dangerous thing on the playground, so this can continue until the playground itself is removed because you can fall on the ground.

My sister did go flying off a swingset and get a concussion. She still has a scar on her forehead from that.

I love swings, still to this day. I'll walk with kiddo and we always stop to swing and try to see who can go highest.

But...
"Swings are responsible for the most injuries on home playgrounds, while climbing apparatus is the most dangerous equipment on public playgrounds."
https://www.nachi.org/playground-equipment-hazards-inspection.htm

They got it wrong, regardless (even if you do want to keep kids in jars till they're 40).

"most unsafe of all playground equipment."

That's only because they've already eliminated all the rest. Monkey bars... gone. Merry-go-round... gone. Slides... gone. Tree houses... gone. You aren't allowed to play games or sports because the loser might get their feelings hurt, and also running is too dangerous and is not allowed. You can't play hide and seek because if you hide, your nanny can't see you, and anyway there's nothing to hide behind.

I've got an idea: Buy a bunch of waterproof Xboxes and TVs and turn the playground into a video game parlor. You can have individual seats with safety harnesses, so the kiddies don't fall out of their chairs while they are playing.

Actually the most dangerous thing on the playground is a self rightous school administrator. (A little redundancy there; you have to be self rightous to be a modern school administrator.)

@Jay: Actually the most dangerous thing on the playground is a self rightous school administrator.

I wonder if the most dangerous thing on the playground is a litigious parent.

Look, they should have over 50 years of data concerning how "dangerous" a piece of playground equipment is. I want to see the numbers, since I do not recall a single child being seriously injured from a swing set during my school years in the 70's and 80's. Riding a bicycle must be considerably more dangerous; I wonder when they will get around to banning those?

"I wonder when they will get around to banning those?"

Wait for it...

I wonder if the most dangerous thing on the playground is a litigious parent.

Yep. I wonder if that's why schools would are doing this. Same thing with the food allergies and sharing food.

"I wonder if that's why schools are doing this."is what I meant.

So, the modern playground is a large rubber mat?

"So, the modern playground is a large rubber mat?"

Can't have that... some child might be allergic to the rubber.

"...school administrators worry that children walking by could get whacked in the head by the feet of their swinging peers."

Oh, yeah! That totally happens! Anybody who was stupid enough to walk in front of me when I was on the swings would kicked in the head.

"So, the modern playground is a large rubber mat?"

Can't have that... some child might be allergic to the rubber.

Plus the rubber can get hot enough to cause second degree burns if someone were to sit on it long enough

In the home, bathtubs and stairs are particularly dangerous, so we should ban them.

Since most schools I know don't even have recess anymore, I am actually surprised the playgrounds are still standing. Well, what's left of them.

I wonder if the most dangerous thing on the playground is a litigious parent.

Ding ding ding.

Google "ban swing sets" and you'll see that the school districts that have done this aren't worried about safety, they're worried about parents. One district in West Virginia removed all the swings after being sued by a parent whose kid broke his arm falling off a swing.

I wonder what the most dangerous thing will be after the swing sets are gone.

We used to put lightening bugs in large jars, it did not work out well for the bugs

Don't stop at the lakes, Amy. When I was little, I almost drowned at Cape Cod. I had gotten caught in a fast-moving current and was being pulled fast. My older sister was playing in a large rubber raft nearby but was oblivious to the danger I was in. Fortunately, a hunky grown-up man saw me and pulled me out of the water. He then warned my sister and me away from the area we were playing in.

Obviously, the ocean needs to be drained as well. (Yes, technically, there is only one ocean.)

"I wonder what the most dangerous thing will be after the swing sets are gone."

By definition, something will be. The cycle then repeats.

Re: Large Jars.

"When the kid is born, you keep it around until age 2. Then you put it in a barrel, nail down the top, and feed it through the bung hole until age 17. Then you drive in the bung."

From R.A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon

Maybe he was on to something. It would eliminate a lot of child-related 'problems'.