Playgrounds can be an extremely fun and enjoyable way for children to play, meet friends, and get physical activity. On the other hand, if not properly maintained, playgrounds can be the cause of pain and possibly serious injury. Statistically, over 200,000 children every year visit a hospital emergency room with an injury suffered on a playground.
Adult Supervision is the least expensive and the most effective way to ensure your child has a safe and enjoyable experience at the playground. When adults properly supervise their children’s play at a playground, children are more likely to play more under control and properly use playground equipment. Plus, if an injury does occur, then adults can quickly assist the child and get him/her the aid they need.
Proper Playground Surfaces
The surface materials used in developing the playground are key to the overall safety or danger of the playground. If the surface underneath the playground equipment is hard, then there is a definite increase in the potential for injuries. Concrete, blacktop, or asphalt are not safe as playground surfaces. Acceptable playground surfaces include pea gravel, mulch, wood chips, sand, and even shredded rubber.
Proper Design and Spacing
The design and spacing of a playground play an important role in ensuring the safety of the playground. A playground should have separate play areas for different age groups. A properly designed playground will be built to accommodate 3 separate age groups: under 2 years old, between 2 and 5 years old, and between 5 and 12 years old.
The safest playgrounds not only have designated areas for different age groups, but also include all of the proper safety elements built into the design. Proper safety elements include guardrails and protective barriers between play structures. Along with proper safety design, separate playground elements should be built apart from each other at the proper distance.
Proper Maintenance
When you first visit the playground, give it the “once over” to make sure that it appears to be well maintained. Inspect the playground for quality of build or lack of maintenance. There should be no broken equipment. Make sure there is no rusted metal. Look out for any metal part on the playground that are out of place or causing a safety hazard.
It does not take an expert to quickly inspect a playground and get a general sense of whether or not it is being properly maintained. If playground equipment looks neglected, or appears to be a safety hazard, work with other supervising adults to keep children off of the equipment, while the proper public department is contacted.
It is very important to help ensure that the playground your children are playing on is as safe as can be. While it is impossible to prevent all injuries in life, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of injury. If a playground is properly designed, built with correct, durable materials, uses the proper surface materials beneath the playground, and is properly maintained, then you can do your best with a little adult supervision to ensure that the playground is safe for your children.
