A little girl has broken her leg going down the steep, curvy tunnel slide at Shellharbour's brand new Reddall Reserve Playground just days after the all-abilities foreshore park opened.
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Adventurous Berkeley two-year-old Tailah Smith had been down the slide several times on Sunday, before her family heard a "crack" and met her screaming at the bottom of the playground's second largest slide.
"She'd been on the slides all day, she was running amok," her dad, Jason Smith, said.
"She's a little daredevil, she's so confident in herself and capable - she can do pretty much anything.
"There's three different slides, and she went on the little slide at first and then she followed her older siblings up the big one."
He said he had been up at the top of the slide with Tailah, but that she had been going down it by herself.
"We don't know how it happened, but I think maybe her shoes got stuck and sort of gripped on the plastic, because her leg was up behind her bum.
"I could actually hear a crack inside the slide, and then she just started screaming. When she got to the bottom where her mum and brother were waiting, I started flying down behind her. We tried to stand her up and she couldn't weight bear on anything."
The family took Tailah to Shellharbour hospital, where she was X-rayed to find she had a clean break through her tibia.
"We've since spoken to Shellharbour council and it's under investigation," Mr Smith said.
"I'm worried for other people, because it's so fast - I went down it myself, I was hitting my head on the sides, so maybe it needs to be slowed down."
Mr Smith said he thought the new playground was "awesome" but may need some "tweaking".
"I'm already kicking myself that this happened to my daughter, and I don't want it to happen to someone else," he said.
"If I didn't say something, I'd never forgive myself because I already feel bad enough."
A spokesperson for Shellharbour council said "the council would review this incident and inspect the slide as a matter of practice".
"Council was distressed to hear this morning about this unfortunate accident and wishes the young child a speedy recovery," they said.
"Prior to opening of the playground, Council engaged an independent consultant who are experts in child accident prevention to undertake an assessment of the playground against relevant Australian Standards... the findings of which confirmed no structural changes to the playground was required and proposed the installation of safety signage.
"In response, Council installed safety decals in several locations within the play tower and around the site.
"This signage requests that children ride single rider only and must traverse down the slide feet first.
"Further signage which provides additional safety instructions to users has also been installed in and around the playground site."
They said there had been no other reports of incidents at the playground in the five days it has been open.
The Reddall Reserve play space is not the first to be put under review after children have been injured on steep, curvy slides.
Since it opened in January, the Boongaree Nature Play Park in Berry has become notorious for causing injuries.
Many parents have reported serious injuries including broken legs, arms, knocked out teeth and facial fractures, with the large slide in the middle of the park the main culprit.
Like the playground at Berry, the Reddall Reserve space is designed for many different ages and abilities, with a number of slides and tunnels, a 25m flying fox, nature play and discovery area.
Its highlight is an 8m-high cube multi-tower with a rope bridge connected to the 'red lamp' structure, which lights at night thanks to solar panels, as well as in-ground trampolines, swing sets including a nest swing, an accessible carousel and sensory panels.
While the new style of playgrounds can divide parents, the University of Wollongong's Associate Professor Rachel Jones, an expert in children's physical activity and development with a focus on ages 0-5, says the risky play they promote is vital for kids development.
In April, she told the Mercury this had become even more important after COVID lockdowns hampered children's physical activity.
"I would certainly advocate for children having risky play, having challenges, and advocate for parents being involved in these situations," she said.
"But it's also about parents being able to say 'I'm going to let them go for a bit by themselves and see how they go'."
She said kids aged between three and five needed developmentally appropriate risks, which might look like going down a slide, climbing a tree or walking on wobbly rocks in a nature play area.
Prof Jones said this helped with muscle development, as well as cognitive and social development, and provided children with "a great sense of achievement".
She said it could also prompt important discussions with parents and educators about how kids felt after participating in risky activities.
"We often don't realise how able and capable our young children are in what they can do," she said.
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