This is Why You Need to be Careful Where You Place the Kids Backyard Play Equipment

A mum has shared a shocking image of the terrible wound her toddler received after an accident on their backyard slide.

Little Ava Wilkinson, 2, was playing on her slide when it tipped over on uneven paving stones, sending her crashing to the ground.

Ava’s mother, Laura Cook, 29, said she feared for her daughter’s life after seeing pools of blood and a massive hole in her forehead that left the toddler’s skull exposed.

“There were some uneven paving slabs on patio and when Ava got onto the slide it toppled over and she smashed her head on the stones,” Laura said.

“I just heard this almighty scream. Darren reached her first and there was blood everywhere.

“It all happened at once and I didn’t know what to do.

“You could see her skull through the hole in her head and I knew it was bad.”

“We wrapped a tea towel around her head to try and stop the blood but she started getting drowsy,” Laura said.

“I tried to keep her awake because I knew if she lost consciousness then it would be difficult to wake her up.

“My worst fear was that her skull had cracked and the hole had gone deeper, affecting her brain.”

Luckily, the wound only required stitches but the two-year-old suffered a huge scar which may need cosmetic surgery later down the line.

Laura now wants to warn other parents to be more careful about the placement of light weight slides and play equipment in their yards.

Share your comments below

25 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 09 Oct 2022
    10:12 am
Accidents happen. Sadly its just apart of life.

- - mom7108 said
  - 28 Nov 2018
    9:54 pm
Far out – you can make things as safe as possible to a point – seems kids will find a way to hurt themselves

- - mom290396 said
  - 28 Nov 2018
    3:38 am
That poor Bub! And her poor parents too! Nothing worse than ur baby getting hurt. Kinda makes u wonder who thinks it’s a good idea to put a slide on an uneven surface? Unless it was just put there out of the way for a couple of minutes and the little one decided to play on it.

- - linaianna said
  - 16 Sep 2018
    2:56 pm
Its better to put things like this on the lawn just in case things like this happen

- - Blossom said
  - 03 Sep 2018
    8:13 am
I’m glad she didn’t fracture her skull. This accident could easily have been fatal. The pavers need to be removed or the slide taken away permanently.

- - Amanda Holland said
  - 27 Aug 2018
    5:32 pm
How horrible for the little girl. It’s plain common sense, with stuff like this

- - Ellen said
  - 12 Aug 2018
    7:40 am
Poor girlie, glad she’s ok !!
We have our play equipment only on the grass. At our previous house we didn’t have grass and we covered a huge area with rubber mats, which worked well.

- - nadine_hill said
  - 06 Aug 2018
    3:04 pm
Should have been more selective on placement of the slide .. so pleased to hear the poor mite is okay …

- - MuthaNita said
  - 04 Aug 2018
    5:14 pm
What a scary thing to happen. In all honesty I would never place a slide near pavement and would hope that it this was commonsense for all. Glad to hear she’s okay.

- - rovermum said
  - 02 Aug 2018
    9:32 am
Wow. Yes, it is always important to look at all the surrounds. And to even imagine if an inquisitive child were to move some light weight equipment. Secure it in a totally safe area. So pleased this little girl only needed stitches. I can imagine how shocking this must have been.

- - mom90758 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    4:01 pm
They surely didn’t choose the best place where to put the slide. But I am so sorry for that little one. She must have had so much pain!! 🙁

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    1:13 pm
Wow, that’s so scary! I wouldn’t even know what to do in this situation.

- - ella12 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    9:58 am
I feel so sorry for the little one, how terrible. We need to be careful where we place play equipment.

- - mom114371 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    9:16 am
It’s sort of common sense to not have slides,swings etc on hard surfaces as kids do tend to fall quite often.

- - curlytops said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    8:35 am
Very important to place play things where if they fell off it would be a soft landing

- - mom111059 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    8:20 am
Lucky the injuries weren’t worse. Poor darling, hate to see little ones hurt. Guess it just reinforces the need to think about their surroundings and where we place play equipment like this.

- - rachel1970 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    7:06 am
Why would you put a slide like that so near the concrete, and a sharp edge of concrete. Always place such items surrounded by grass or another soft surface. Kids fall off slides all the time. I guess you just wouldn’t think it would happen in your own home. (yet it’s the place of most accidents.)

- - becstalou said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    7:01 am
How awful I’m paranoid about this kind of thing already it’s hard to forsee every possible danger.

- - mom93821 said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    6:32 am
All play equipment goes on grass or with a soft surface underneath it.
- mom93821 replied
  
  02 Aug 2018 , 6:04 am
  It is good of the mum to share her story and make people aware of where they should and should not place play equipment.
- - Ellen said
  - 01 Aug 2018
    3:38 am
Aw poor baby !! Glad it didn’t end up being worse !