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5 Most Essential Features of Playground Safety
Friday, September 21, 2018
Kids do get hurt every day. And most of their injuries result from playing in public playgrounds. As per the records of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200,000 children each year get injured in the playgrounds while playing. Out of these children that are brought into the emergency rooms of the hospital, most of them are 14 years of age.
In order to reduce the risks of playground injuries, parents need to keep a check on several playground safety features before they let their kids play in the public playgrounds. Here we discuss five such features that can ensure the safety of your children.
1 - Safe Surfaces
The most important safety feature a playground must have is the safe surface under the equipment. This would minimize the impact of any falls from the swings and bars. If there is a concrete, dirt, asphalt or grass surface under the play equipment, then that playground is not at all safe for children. Following is a list of surfaces that are considered safe:
- Engineered wood fiber
- Wood chips
- Synthetic tiles or rubber tiles
- Pea or sand gravel
Having these safe surfaces will not reduce the number of kids falling from the play equipment, but it would sure minimize the risk of children getting hurt.
2 - Spacing of Equipment
Playground safety inspections are conducted in order to check if there is a proper spacing between the play equipment in the playground. This would keep the children from running into each other. Also, another important aspect of this safety feature is to check the spacing between the swings and other play equipment. This is because children on swings often hurt other children standing or playing in the range of a swing.
3 - Proper Openings
All the play equipment must have adequate openings in order to prevent children from getting stuck or trapped in them. Kids crawl between the bars, through barriers, and under guardrails that aren’t actually designed for such purposes. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the openings on the playground equipment must be at least 9 inches to avoid strangulation or entrapment.
4 - Closed and Covered Equipment
Injuries caused by entanglement and impalement are two big concerns in the playgrounds. These injuries are caused by children’s clothing getting stuck in the protruding and sharp hardware that pierces children’s bodies. In order to practice playground safety standards, all the hooks needs to be closed, all the bolts should be covered, and all the ropes should be kept secured with minimum slack to avoid making a loop or noose.
5 - Barriers and Guardrails
Kids like to climb high over the playground equipment. This increases the chances of their tripping and falling down. Thus, one big playground safety feature is the recommended use of guardrails and barriers. However, this use of guardrails must be according to the pre-school aged children and school aged children.
Parents have to play a great role in ensuring the safety of any public playground. If you ever see a playground with potentially dangerous equipment or conditions that may be injurious for kids, then contact Mac Athletics to conduct an immediate playground safety inspection. Our inspection team puts in its best efforts to ensure a prosperous and safe environment for kids of all ages to play in.
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