10 Steps to Playground Safety
Children exercise their brains, social skills, and their bodies during unstructured, free play at playgrounds. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200,000 children seek emergency medical treatment from playground injuries each year. You can take steps to reduce the risk of playground injuries and ensure that children can experience safe, unstructured, free play.
1. The depth of loose safety surfacing materials (sand, pea gravel, and wood products) must be installed and maintained according to potential fall height and specific material used. Rubber-like safety surfacing must be monitored for signs of wear.
2. Safety surfacing materials must extend at least 6 feet in all directions from playground equipment. For swings, be sure the safety surfacing extends twice the height of the suspending bar in the front and back.
3. Prevent falls and strangulation risk by ensuring that openings such as railings or ladder rungs are less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
4. Play structures that are more than 30 inches tall need to be spaced at least 9 feet apart.
5. Playground equipment and the surrounding safety surfacing need to be checked regularly for damage and wear.
6. Check equipment regularly for sharp points or edges and for dangerous hardware including open “s” hooks or protruding bolt ends.
7. Eliminate tripping hazards such as exposed concrete footings, tree roots or stumps, and rocks.
8. Platforms, ramps, and elevated surfaces need to have guardrails to prevent falls.
9. Inspect shade structures for tears, rips, and rust. Make sure they are clear of debris.
10. Adult supervision is the best way to prevent playground injuries. Playground structures should allow for visibility.
Regular inspections of playground equipment, safety surfacing, and shade structures can help keep children safe at play. If it’s time to replace part or all of your playground equipment, shade structure, or safety surfacing, contact our team of experts for a FREE consultation.
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Additional Playground Safety Resources: