Last year on this date, a friend's son was at a birthday party swinging on a tree swing. The branch broke, and many lives changed forever. I shared this last year and share it again today:
Because I love you and the children in your life/future:
I now know three sets of parents whose young children have had a severe brain injury from a swing hung on a tree branch. While it has an idyllic appearance, it can be life-altering/life-ending if the branch breaks. No matter what the tree looks like on the outside, you can not see the inside. My family grows and harvests trees from our own land. I can tell you firsthand that a substantial amount of rot can be hidden from the eye inside of what appears to be a healthy tree. Not only that, but you can not tell how much a tree branch has been stressed (cracked). Swinging subjects the branch to a lot of unusual force. All of the children I know that were injured by tree swings are 6 years old and under (lightweight). Kiln-dried wood in a hardware store can seem very light, but a living tree branch of the same thickness is much heavier.
PLEASE do not use tree branches for swings. It's not worth the risk. My love to all!
