Rubber play tiles are the best way to keep children safe on a playground thanks to their excellent impact absorption and non-slip traction. Made of recycled rubber crumb, play area rubber tiles can be used for an indoor or outdoor playground surface as it will not be damaged by environmental factors found outdoors. Soft play floor tiles are designed to provide a safe and comfortable play surface for children. Recycled rubber crumb tiles can offer excellent impact absorption that provides a cushioned landing surface that is safer for children. Furthermore, rubber’s moisture resistance and resistance to environmental factors allow play area rubber tiles to retain their traction even when moisture is present. Installing a soft ground cover for playgrounds is the best way to keep children safe while they are playing on a playground.

Are Rubber Tiles Safe for Children?

Rubber tiles are safe for children as they can offer reliable impact absorption and traction. Rubber play tiles are made of durable recycled rubber that derive from post-consumer vehicle tires, making them extremely reliable and long-lasting. Vehicle tires can stand up well against harsh conditions that involve abrasive terrain as well as changing weather conditions, making rubber play tiles made of tire-derived rubber highly durable. Rubber retains a low compression set and a high tensile strength which allows play area rubber tiles to provide a soft surface without breaking under heavy impacts. Compression set refers to the permanent deformation of a material after removing heavy pressure and tensile strength refers to the maximum amount of stress while being stretched without breaking (Wikipedia.org). Without these properties of rubber, the force of impact will reach the hard surface underneath the rubber playground padding, offering little to no impact absorption. Soft play floor tiles also provide a reliable and durable playground surface that will not break or tear under heavy impacts, allowing for sufficient protection. In addition, rubber play tiles are considered unitary playground surfacing options and can be installed over a wide range of surfaces, including concrete, hardwood, grass, dirt, and carpet. Loose-fill options, like wood chips, rubber crumbs, or sand, are not as reliable as rubber play tiles as they can be easily altered by wear and tear of children playing as well as changing weather conditions. Because they can be easily altered, loose-fill surfacing option cannot be placed on top of hard surfaces like concrete as they cannot offer sufficient shock absorption. Furthermore, rubber safety playground surfaces are naturally moisture resistant products that can retain their natural traction-enhancing properties even when moisture is present on their surface. Because rubber play tiles are made with recycled crumb rubber, the surfaces of the tiles have a unique surface texture that further adds to rubber’s non-slip properties. Therefore, recycled rubber play matting tiles are the superior safety surface option for playgrounds.

• (a) Are Playground Surfaces Safe?

  Playground surfaces are safe if they can offer sufficient impact absorption. The best soft ground cover for playgrounds are rubber play tiles thanks to their impact absorption and non-slip surface. Surfaces like concrete or asphalt can become slick when wet and are hard surfaces that can lead to serious injuries during a fall. For instance, according to the Washington Post, “Nearly all American playgrounds pose serious hazards to children, with falls to hard surfaces causing the most injuries…” and after a survey, it was recorded that “92 percent of the playgrounds did not have soft enough surfaces under and around equipment to protect children when they fall” (washingtonpost.com). To make a safe playground surface, it is best to use recycled rubber playground protective padding tiles to provide a safe landing surface. Rubber play tiles made of recycled rubber crumb offer superior shock absorption that will keep kids safe during a fall. Best of all, recycled rubber crumb offers excellent non-slip tractions which helps prevent falls.

How Do You Stay Safe on a Playground?

You can stay safe on a playground by installing non-slip and impact absorbent playground protective padding. Playgrounds can be found both indoors and outdoors meaning they will be exposed to changing weather conditions, including precipitation. Being made of recycled rubber crumb, rubber playground tiles can remain a reliable non-slip and shock absorbent surface for both an indoor and outdoor play surface without being damaged by environmental factors. Having non-slip surface will greatly reduce the chances of injury-causing slips and falls. In case of playground falls, rubber play tiles will offer a softer landing surface that can effectively absorb the force of impact and provide a cushioned barrier between the impact and the hard subfloor. Additionally, it is important to follow the guidelines provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, such as providing sufficient padding around playground equipment around their “use zone”. The equipment’s use zones should extend out at least 6 feet from the perimeter of the equipment making customizable rubber play tiles ideal for creating safety playground surfaces (cpsc.gov). Therefore, customizable rubber play tiles can provide safety on a playground by offering traction, impact absorption, and sufficient coverage.

Playground falls account for most injuries that occur on a playground, making it important to install an impact absorbent indoor/outdoor play surface. Rubber play matting is the ideal playground surfacing option as rubber offers superior impact absorption and non-sip traction. The recycled rubber crumb material used to create the tiles can stand up well against damaging environmental factors, including UV rays, ozone, oxygen, and wet weather conditions, making them reliable safety products. Additionally, as unitary playground protective padding, surfacing tiles can be placed over a wide range of surfaces without its impact absorption being negatively affected. Best of all, rubber play tiles can be customized to provide sufficient impact absorbent surfacing around the playground equipment to ensure complete coverage of the use zone of the playground.