Snow Fort Tragedy Prompts Parents To Ask For Safety Tips

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL —The accidental death of an Elk Grove Village girl who was trapped when a snow fort collapsed on her has shocked Chicagoland community members, many of whom for generations have played harmlessly outside in the snow. Parents on social media and elsewhere are asking: How can we keep our kids safe in the winter?

Esther Jung, 12, died Sunday afternoon after she and her 9-year-old companion, Sophia Shin, left Rothem Church on East College Drive while adults attended service. The snow fort they built collapsed, killing Jung and trapping Shin chest-high in the snow.

No one blames the parents. The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident. And while forts collapse, they do not appear to do so often. No organization in the United States can be found that tracks statistics about them, and no injury-prevention agencies appear to have been alerted about trends in incidents of them, experts said.

Sometimes, accidents cannot be prevented. However, there are ways to keep kids safe when they play in the snow and cold. In fact, experts say, kids should play outside in the winter.

"It's good for kids to play outside," said Amy Hill, executive director of the Injury and Prevention Research Center at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. "Part of being a kid is playing outside in the fresh air and in all kinds of temperatures. Plus, playing in the snow is fun."

Andrew Larson, acting fire chief for the Arlington Heights Fire Department, offers parents practical tips for playing in and building with deep snow.

He warned against permitting children to build structures with roofs or to dig tunnels. Encourage them instead, he said, to be creative by building a house with walls (instead of a ceiling) and filling it with “snow furniture," he said.

Other tips include:

• Actively supervise young children who play outside in the snow. Older children should play outside with a friend who could call for help if a situation arises.
• Tell children to never play in or on snow banks that border roads, because snow plow operators may not know there are children are on or in them.
• Keep children away from snow blowers, the plume it creates, and from snow plows.

Hill's organization offers similar advice for playing safely in the cold.

Parents should require their children to come inside frequently — every 15 minutes or so — to warm up, Hill said, and should check on them if they do not come in.

Kids who play winter sports, such as sledding or downhill skiing, should wear some kind of protective head gear.

All children should dress appropriately for the weather. For example, mittens keep hands warmer than gloves do. And babies should not wear a snowsuit while they are strapped in a car seat because the belt will not be tight enough. They should be belted in, and blankets should be placed over them, Hill added.