Playing it Safe: Play Structures & Playgrounds
by Tara Cantore
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As a child, one of my favorite pastimes was spending my summers outdoors. I loved being able to swing and slide on my friend’s playground. As my fourth birthday approached, I begged my parents to let me have a playscape in our backyard. For my birthday, my dad put together a playscape for me. Each summer I would spend hours swinging, sliding and climbing in our yard.

With summer just around the corner, many young children will begin to want to spend their days outdoors. They may request, just like I did as a child, to have their own playscape in their backyard. Parents who plan on constructing their own playgrounds for their children should take some safety precautions into consideration prior to construction.

One of the most important factors in evaluating the safety of any playground is the surface of the play area.

Prior to constructing your playscape, you need to ensure that a proper surface is available for the equipment. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 70 percent of all playground injuries are related to falls to the surface.

To help guarantee that your child doesn’t become part of this statistic, the surface under your playground equipment should be soft enough and thick enough to lessen the impact of a child’s fall. Concrete, asphalt and blacktop are all unsafe and unacceptable surfaces for playgrounds. Grass, soil and packed-earth surfaces are also unsafe, because weather and wear can reduce their capacities to cushion your child’s fall.

When picking out a surface to place your playground, you should choose one that is free of standing water and debris, such as rocks, tree stumps and tree roots, which can all cause your child to trip and fall while playing.

The surface should be loosely filled with materials like wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel or shredded rubber. The loose-fill surface materials should be 12 inches deep for equipment up to eight feet in height. The material should not be packed down, as this will reduce the cushioning effect. Make sure that the cushioned surface is extended at least six feet past the equipment. Use additional coverage for the slides and swings of the playground. Surfacing mats made of rubber or rubber-like materials are also safe.

The type of playground equipment that you choose should depend upon the age of your child. Playground equipment should be designed for two different age groups: two to five year olds and five to 12 year olds.

If you have younger children, you should not choose equipment that is designed for older children because the equipment sizes and proportions will not be right for small children. Older children should also not play on equipment that is designed for smaller kids because the smaller equipment and spaces can cause problems for them as well.

Examples of age-appropriate equipment include:

Keep in mind that the playground should challenge your children. Playgrounds can also facilitate other areas of physical development. They can allow children to stimulate their senses with different textures and contrasts in color. They can also help develop dynamic balance by providing smaller children with small ramps or steps and school-aged children with rope and chain ladders, bridges and balance beams.

Playgrounds can help to create positive emotional development for children as well. Equipment such as appropriately-sized slides and swings encourage children to experiment and stretch their bodies and emotions to new limits. Appropriately-designed playgrounds also allow younger children to explore new methods of playing and to take qualified risks.

When choosing your child’s playground equipment, there are other considerations that you should take as well. The types of swings that you choose should be made of soft material such as rubber or plastic, not wood or metal. When placing swings on your structure, you should limit them to two per bay. Tot swings should have their own bay. Try and space the swings at least 24 inches apart. This will help to prevent injuries when they are in use.

Some equipment is not safe for your child’s playground. Types of equipment that you should not use include: animal figure swings, glider swings that hold more than one child at a time, swinging ropes that can fray, unravel or form a noose, exercise rings and trapeze bars, monkey bars and trampolines.

Routine Playground Maintenance

After you have chosen and set up a playscape for your children, you need to continue to conduct routine maintenance of the equipment. Items that should be checked regularly include:

• The depth of loose-fill cushioned surfacing such as wood chips or pea gravel that may have been displaced because of use.
• Equipment that has loose, worn or missing parts. All parts, even plastic ones, can break. Check for sharp points, corners or edges. An up-close inspection of bolts, welding points and moving parts should be made. Be sure to check severe wear and openings on S-hooks and wear of bearing hangers on swings. Protective caps or plugs on equipment such as ladders and climbers should be checked and replaced if needed.
• Wooden equipment that has splinters, large cracks or deterioration. A wood preservative should be applied once a year to help protect the equipment from deterioration.
• Metal equipment and pieces that may have rust or deterioration may need to be repainted periodically.
• When your children are playing on any playscape, there are some safety precautions that both of you can take. Because many injuries on playgrounds are associated with inadequate supervision, parents should supervise while their child plays. It is estimated that more than 40 percent of playground injuries may be in some way related to inadequate supervision. Children should always be observed when playing on playground equipment. Adults need to watch out for potential hazards, observe children playing, intercede and facilitate play when necessary and be available in case an injury occurs.

Make sure that your children know playground safety rules as well. Here are some important tips that you should go over with your children.

• Play only on dry equipment. If surfaces are wet, there is a chance of slipping and falling.
• When going down the slide, have one person slide down at a time. Wait for the person in front of you to get on the ground and move away from the slide.
• Always slide sitting down and facing forward. Never slide down headfirst or backwards.
• Climb stairs and steps slowly.
• Wear shoes. Don’t go barefoot, or your foot could get a splinter or cut.
• Swing sitting down with one person on a swing.
• Wait until the swing stops before getting off.
• Be careful when walking in front of moving swings. You don’t want to get hit accidentally.
• During the summer the playground equipment can become uncomfortably hot, especially on metal slides. Use good judgment. If the equipment feels hot to the touch, it’s probably not safe to play on.

Whether you plan on building a playground for your children or even taking a visit to your local playscape, it is important to follow safety rules and be aware of the playground surroundings. By just taking a few precautions, your children can enjoy a summer of exploration and fun.

This article was originally printed in the May 2006 issue of Connecticut Parent Magazine