Each year, about 200,000 children head to the emergency room to treat injuries from playgrounds, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The agency has declared this National Playground Safety Week and released updated guidelines for day cares, schools and others who design and maintain playgrounds.

Suggestions include:

Supervise children at all times.

Use at least 9 inches of protection -- such as shredded rubber, wood chips or mulch -- under equipment.

Extend the protective surface 6 feet in all directions. For swings, it should go twice the height of the set.

Repair sharp points or edges on equipment.

Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, pet leashes or cords of any kind to play equipment due to the strangulation hazard.