By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
FRANKENMUTH — Playing in the snow, especially the abundance that this winter provided, is part of childhood, but there could also be risks.
“Many of us fondly remember digging in the snow and trying to tunnel to China. Because these memories are pleasant, many of us understandably want our children to have similar experiences. While digging in the snow can be a safe and enjoyable activity for children, digging tunnels and then crawling through them can be life-threatening,” said Frankenmuth Police Chief Donald Mawer. “Since children aren’t structural engineers, their tunnels aren’t generally sound enough to be crawling through them. The tunnel could collapse. This can be particularly dangerous if your child is playing in the snow by themselves and the tunnel collapses without anyone else being aware this has happened.”
The three municipalities in Tuscola County that record precipitation, reported a combined total of well over 100 inches of snow fall over the last few months.
Yet, no matter how tightly the snow is packed, collapse is possible and inevitable as the snow begins to melt.
“As a child crawls through a snow tunnel, they can knock loose the snow holding up the tunnel. If they get trapped for too long, even if they able to breathe, they are also at the mercy of the cold temperatures,” said Mawer. “The best way to prevent your child from being trapped in a caved in tunnel is to educate them of the dangers and make a rule that they don’t dig or crawl through tunnels and follow this up with supervision.”
With the warmer temperatures and rain this week, extra caution is needed when playing in the snow.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.