Child's Play

Broward County, Florida, schools have banned running on playgrounds. That's just one of a number of changes on south Florida school playgrounds, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper. Gone are swings, see saws, and merry-go-rounds. (Moving equipment causes injuries.) Gone, too, are sandboxes. (Animals use them for litter boxes.) And even cement crawl tubes have been banned. (Vagrants may use them for shelter.) School officials say they have made the changes because of lawsuits. Since 1999, Broward County schools paid out about $561,000 to settle 189 claims for playground accidents.