13 Playground Safety Tips To Teach Your Children

More than 200,000 children visit hospital emergency rooms for playground-related injuries each year. Learn what to look for in playground equipment and layout to avoid potential danger. Also, learn how to teach your kids about playing safely.

Inspecting the Playground Design and Equipment

Select age-appropriate play equipment. Because proportions and sizes differ, playground equipment should be befitted to your child’s age, whether toddlers or school age. Designating separate areas keeps everyone safer.

Look for absorbent surfaces. Soft surfaces reduce fall-related injuries. Soft materials will cushion an impact. Some of the best options are kid-friendly mulch, loosely packed wood chips, pea gravel, sand, or synthetics like rubber mats.

Ensure the equipment is well -kept. All equipment should be well maintained and anchored into the ground firmly, with nuts and bolts tightly secured and covered. Beware of rusted metals, splintering wood, open hooks that could catch on clothing or any jagged edges. 

 Calculate safe spacing.  Platforms should be shorter than 12 feet high. Ensure swings are at least two feet apart and six feet away from any wall or fencing. Allowing for an abundance of leeway will decrease accidents.  

Take particular caution with moving equipment. Playground equipment with moving elements, like seesaws and carousels, belong in separate areas of the lot. Be attentive to pinch points; anywhere a child’s fingers can catch.

Clear away debris and ropes. Dispose of broken glass, twisted metal, and any swinging ropes or leashes. Put backpacks, strollers, and toys off to the side to avoid any trips or falls. 

Report safety concerns to the appropriate authority. Become familiar with whoever is liable for the playground’s upkeep, whether it’s a local government, school, or private organization. If you see potential dangers or hazards, warn others to keep away and report the issue immediately. Reporting helps keep parks safe and saves owners from liability problems.

Teaching Your Children To Play Safely

Provide careful supervision. Avoid injuries through interaction. By playing with your children, you allow more time together. You can use the opportunity to talk about safety, and being together gives on the spot access to provide first aid.

Require children to use the equipment as intended. Even well-designed equipment needs cooperation from the user. Teach kids how to stay inside the guardrails, use the slide feet first, and sit facing each other on seesaws. They build most devices for the use of only one child at a time. Be sure to manage them this way.

Point out safety features. Help children understand the significance of guardrails and protective barriers on high platforms and ramps. Explain how the hood on a slide prompts you to sit down, and plastic slides stay more relaxed than the metal versions.

Encourage extreme caution when climbing. Climbing justifies special attention, as falls cause almost 70% of playground injuries. Teach your children how to fall correctly. Yes, you read that right. Learning and practicing how to fall will teach your children to land on both feet with their knees bent to avoid injuries. Using both hands to climb while also keeping far enough behind the person in front of you are also essential to remember.

Review roughhousing rules. It’s not permitted and has no room on playground equipment or in the play area. Discourage shoving, pushing, or fighting. Use your playground outings to explain the advantages of taking turns and sharing.

Enforce safe distances. Praise your children for being mindful of their surroundings and standing back from any equipment during use. Make it a practice to check that there are no other kids at the bottom of the slide before sliding. Pick a path that creates a generous space between the swing set and yourself.

Keeping your children safe on the playground will enable them to experience the fresh air and fun with less risk of injury. Playing alongside your child is a great way to check out the play area, provide sufficient supervision, and share beautiful memories.