Playground Equipment Safety

What makes a playground safe?

In recent years, ad campaigns have urged American children and their parents to go outside and play for better health and fitness. While going to a local playground is a simple, low cost approach to improving fitness, it must be accompanied by keen awareness of safety issues on playgrounds. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that every year, 156,000 injuries requiring emergency room treatment occur on playgrounds. Nemours, a nonprofit organization devoted to improving children's health, puts the estimate at 200,000 injuries annually. While today's playgrounds are far safer than their counterparts of a generation ago, it would be impossible to eliminate all playground hazards. Three major factors that contribute to playground safety are adult supervision, proper height and spacing of play equipment, and the right ground covering type and depth.

Adult supervision

There is no substitute for adult supervision on a playground. An adult supervisor should know how to summon help in the event of an accident, and should ideally know basic first aid. Even school age children can benefit from supervision because of their tendency to want to test their limits on equipment like swings.

Before allowing children to play on a playground, make sure that age-appropriate equipment for toddlers and preschoolers is set apart from the apparatus for older kids. Make sure you have a vantage point where you can see the children you are supervising. Keep toddlers and preschoolers from playing on equipment meant for school age children, and also keep older children from playing improperly in areas designated for toddlers and preschoolers.
Height and spacing of play equipment

The safest playgrounds have separate play areas for younger children and older children and signs designating those areas. Here are five safety features to look for on and around playground equipment.

1. Guardrails and barriers around elevated surfaces and ramps
2. Swings, see-saws, and other moving apparatus that are separate from the rest of the playground
3. Bucket swings for toddlers separate from the swings for older kids
4. Structures more than 30 inches in height spaced at least nine feet apart to keep kids from jumping from one elevated surface to another
5. Spaces on equipment that are less than 3.5 inches or greater than 9 inches to prevent hazards of trapping a child's head or limb

Ground covering

Ground covering on playgrounds has come a long way since the 1970s. Concrete and asphalt are recognized as the playground hazards they are, and even grass and packed earth are known to be dangerous, as are standing water, debris, and tree roots. Safer, modern ground coverings protect today's children better. Two good options for protective surfaces on public playgrounds are soft unitary and loose-fill materials. Loose-fill ground cover should not be used in toddler areas, however, because of toddlers' tendency to put things in their mouths.

Loose fill covering should be 12 inches deep, and should extend at least six feet beyond the footprint of the equipment itself. Other loose fill products that work well on playgrounds are mulch and sand. Surface mats of safety tested rubber allow the best access for people in wheelchairs. Remember that ground covering cannot prevent all playground injuries, and that the most serious injuries occur from falls from equipment to the ground.

Conclusion

While playground safety has advanced significantly in recent years, there is no way to completely eradicate the risks. No ground covering is perfect for all playgrounds, but a 12-inch thickness of loose fill ground cover can help minimize injuries from falls. Equipment that is properly placed, with no spaces that could trap a child's head, arm, or leg are safer for children than some of the older apparatus, such as monkey bars. Finally, there is no substitute for responsible supervision of children on playgrounds and children knowing the basic rules of playground safety. A safe playground is a wonderful place for families to go to get out from in front of the television or video games, and get fresh air and exercise.

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