Playground Equipment Safety and Maintenance

Playgrounds are places where children make the best memories of their childhood. They not only laugh and play but learn many new experiences on the playgrounds. Not only this, playgrounds play a significant role in shaping the social behaviors of kids and making new friends.

Although commercial playground equipment today is safer than the previous years, there is always a chance of getting injured while playing at the modern playgrounds. There are many playground-related injuries that are a major threat to our children’s lives. Today, we have come up with four ways you can make the playgrounds safer for your kids.

1. Supervise kids play

Adult supervision is one of the key components of a playground safety strategy. We can better control how our kids play under our supervision. When adults are around the kids when they are playing using playground equipment, they make sure that the kids do not engage in any risky game activity. Adults help kids understand the distance from the equipment, and ensure that elder kids do not violate the playing limits. Even if you don’t do anything, having parents or caregivers around help kids regulate their playing behavior. 

2. Safety Instructions

If you are advocating for the safety of the children on the playground, then the first thing would be to make sure that the outdoor playground equipment in the playground meets the safety standards of watchdog organizations. Look for the recommendations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. From the past few decades, advancements in technology have produced new playground equipment. As a result, there have been changes to the surface requirements and safety guidelines. Some of the basic guidelines that should not be missed include: 

a) Proper labeling and signage on the equipment

b) Sightline to track the children anywhere in the playground 

c) Safe surface materials including engineered wood fiber, sand, and pea gravel

3. Maintenance 

Once you have safe and modern equipment in place, it is also important to keep checking it periodically to ensure it is working optimally. Proper maintenance makes sure that the school playground equipment is in safe working order. Any obstruction like rocks or stumps of trees must be cleared from the playground area. Soft seats must be installed in place of metal or wooden swing seats. There should not be any sharp edges, instead, make them smooth. All the platforms must be timely repaired. There is another safety rule that the cushioned surface should extend at least 6 feet beyond the equipment. Finally, replace all the worn-out materials to avoid any dangerous situation.

4. Use Age-Related Equipment

Playground equipment today is made according to the age groups and ability levels. It is important to ensure that any equipment that your kids play with must be age-appropriate. Similarly, there is a ladder height of 60 inches for kids in their preschool years. Moreover, age guidelines must be clearly displayed on the playground equipment.