How to Protect Your Family with Playground Safety Guidelines

Even though playgrounds are designed for children to be active in, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), park excursions are responsible for more than 200,000 injuries that result in children going to the emergency room each year (www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/327.html). Most of these injuries are from falling off of the playground equipment onto the surfacing below. Elevated structures and curious active children can be a dangerous mix. While playground structures are there so that kids can use them to remain active and gain self-confidence, injuries are not part of the bargain. Why are these play structures so hazardous and how can you avoid being one of the 200,000 injuries? Here is a list of playground safety guidelines to keep you out of and far away from the emergency rooms. We have compiled this list based on the most recent CPSC publications.

1. Examine the Floors: Examine the surfacing for playgrounds that you visit. This is one of the most important playground safety standards due to the large amount of injuries that result from a lack of playground flooring. The CPSC states that equipment should never be placed on top of hard asphalt or concrete. This is the most dangerous surfacing for playgrounds because it is unforgiving and can cause serious injury if fallen upon. Look instead for a structure situated on top of soft and forgiving surfaces. Any area with rubber playground flooring tiles is an improvement on safety for children from loose-fill or hard surfaces. Firstly, rubber has cushioned qualities and when produced in the right durometer (i.e., softness) can absorb shock and impact. In addition, rubber flooring is a non-slip surface due to rubber’s naturally high coefficient of friction. It will prevent any more minor injuries due to slips or falls. If a child falls either on the ground or from the structure above, rubber also acts a soft cushion that absorbs the impact of the fall. The thicker the playground flooring tiles, the more probable that they can absorb a bigger collision. This is the easiest way to adhere to playground safety standards and keep your children protected.

2. Six Foot Rule: Make sure that protective surfacing extends at least six feet in every direction from any play equipment, especially swings. When using sand or mulch, it is important that the surface is at least 12 inches deep to adequately protect children, even if they are jumping from the swing set. Keep in mind sand and mulch move upon touch and may not be the proper depth when needed. Loose-fill can also be scooped out over time so that after a while the filling is nowhere near the safety standard amount. Most rubber playground mats used in public facilities are fall height tested to determine if they can prevent critical injury from a fall about six feet high. While these mats cannot guarantee that there will be no scraped elbows or knees, they can alleviate any dangerous spills from a top a higher playground structure. Installing safety playground flooring tiles is essential to making sure your playground is safe and following the playground safety guidelines.

3. 30/9 Rule: To avoid any mid-air collisions, make sure that all play equipment more than 30 inches high is spaced at least 9 feet apart so that any adventurous child who jumps off the structure does not hit a different section of the playground. It seems obvious but take out the tape measure and make sure that your structure is installed based on this CPSC suggestion.

4. Remove Protrusions: Check for any dangerous hardware protruding from structures, i.e. open “S” hooks or bolt ends. Although these may seem small or do not stick out far, children running around a park are not likely to see them and will somehow make sure to run into them.

5. No Sharp Edges: Confirm that there are no sharp edges or points on the equipment, even a small point can cause severe cuts if a child falls into it or a scrapes against it.

6. Remove Obstacles and Keep Floors Clean: Look for any tripping hazards such as chipped concrete, rocks, or cracks. This is more difficult with parks that use sand or wood mulch as surfacing because they can blanket any differences in the subsurface. Not only are you unable to see clearly if there are any liabilities, sand and wood mulch can also cover up dangerous objects, such as sharp glass. By using rubber playground flooring tiles, any dropped items such as glass bottles or sharp objects rest on top of the surfacing in plain sight for you to pick up or sweep into the trash.

7. Be Wary of Aged Equipment: Watch out for any playgrounds that look older and rusted over. These play structures are not as sturdy because they are in need of repair. Avoid structures that have seen better conditions. It is important to also make sure that the surfacing is not in need of replacement as well.

8. Supervise, Supervise, Supervise: We cannot say this enough! Supervise your children while they play on the equipment to make sure they remain safe. Remember they are kids!

While playgrounds are meant to be fun and enjoyable, they can become dangerous unless proper playground safety standards are followed to ensure that each play area is as safe as possible. Avoid becoming one of the many injuries that children suffer each year from unsafe equipment or surfacing for playgrounds. Due to the huge number of tire now being recycled, rubber playground mats are now so readily available and affordable that safety need not be an expensive project. Build with safety in mind. If your use public facilities make sure your local agencies are using the proper guidelines. Keep your family trips to the park as only good memories. By following these playground safety guidelines, you can help to protect your children from any critical injuries and make sure the worst that happens is a “boo-boo”.