Playing it Safe with Home Play Structures
by Emily Cardozo

As a child, I found few things more exciting than taking a trip to one of Bridgeport’s several playgrounds. Swinging, sliding, climbing and spinning brought countless hours of entertainment and exercise.

Many parents decide to bring the fun home from the playground and install play structures in their yards. By doing so, they provide limitless benefits for their child’s development.

Other than the obvious physical advantages from playing, such as motor skills and cardiovascular endurance, outdoor play structures that encourage all forms of play can help children master many other developmental tasks, including exploring, risk-taking and the absorption of basic knowledge. Play can give children a sense of power and control and promote their imagination.

Children who play outdoors are able to learn more about themselves, such as their limits and capabilities, and their environment, such as the seasons and weather. They can let off steam from spending time indoors at school or in front of the computer while boosting their health and energy levels. Play also helps children interact socially, promotes language and communication skills and reduces stress.

Though the the possibilities for growth through play abound, there are also safety considerations that must be addressed when deciding to set up a play structure at home.

While minor scratches and bruises are common and may not concern parents, the consequences of unsafe play structures can be much more severe. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that each year, approximately 50,000 children in the United States visit emergency rooms due to injuries on home playground equipment.

Installing a Safe Play Structure at Home

Many of the injuries caused by play structures are preventable. The CPSC lists several factors to take into consideration before installation in order to make home play structures as safe as they are fun.

Location

When planning a home playground, a location away from roads and driveways and readily visible from inside and outside the home is important.

Create a site that is free of obstacles that could cause injuries, such as low, overhanging tree branches, overhead wires, tree stumps and/or roots, large rocks, bricks and concrete.

Choose a level location for the equipment. This can reduce the likelihood of the play set tipping over and loose-fill surfacing materials washing away during heavy rains.

Locate play equipment at least six feet away from any structure or obstacle, such as a house, fence, shed, trees or poles. Bare metal platforms and slides should be placed out of direct sunlight to reduce the likelihood of serious burns. A slide that faces north will receive the least direct sunlight.

Provide enough room so that children can use the equipment safely. For example, a slide should not exit in front of a swing. Each piece of play equipment should have at least six feet of play area around it.

Surfacing

Approximately 80 percent of the injuries caused by home play structures each year occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground. Many backyard play structures are placed on dirt or grass, which do not adequately protect children when they fall.

Parents must install and maintain a shock-absorbing surface around the play equipment. Use at least nine inches of wood chips, mulch or shredded rubber for play equipment that is up to seven feet high. If sand or pea gravel is used, install at least a nine-inch layer for play equipment up to five feet high.

Another option is to use surfacing mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials. These mats may need to be professionally installed.

Protective surfacing should extend at least six feet in all directions from the play equipment. For swings, be sure that the surfacing extends — in back and front — twice the height of the suspending bar. For tire swings, install protective surfacing outward from the swing equal to the suspension chain plus six feet.

Materials

Metal play structures should be painted, galvanized or otherwise treated to prevent rust, corrosion and deterioration. Do not use paint containing lead.

Wood should be naturally rot-resistant and insect-resistant (such as cedar or redwood) or treated to prevent such deterioration. Do not use creosote-treated wood or coatings that contain pesticides.

Be sure to use lightweight swings to minimize injuries if a child is hit. Avoid heavy seats made out of metal or wood.

Anchors

Children can be seriously injured if struck by play equipment that moves or tips over. Make sure that play structures are securely anchored. Bury or cover the anchors with adequate surfacing material to prevent tripping.

Ropes

Each year, several children die when they become entangled in and strangle from ropes, cords or leashes attached to play equipment, or when clothing drawstrings and items worn around children’s necks catch on the equipment.

Never attach — or allow children to attach — ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines or pet leashes to play equipment. Anchor any climbing ropes at both ends. Remove drawstrings from children’s clothes before allowing them to play on the structure.

Hardware

Children can be cut by sharp edges and protruding bolts on play structures. Check for and cap or close hardware such as open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends.

Openings

Eliminate openings that can trap a child’s head or neck, such as those in guardrails or ladders. Openings should be smaller than 3.5 inches to prevent entry of a small child’s body, or larger than nine inches to allow a child’s head and body to slide completely through.

Guardrails

Make sure that platforms and ramps over 30 inches high have guardrails or barriers to prevent falls.

Supervision

Children are commonly injured when they are hit by swings or other moving equipment. Adequate supervision can help reduce the chance that this will happen.

Maintaining Your Home Playground

Parents should regularly check both play equipment and surfacing to make sure both are in good condition. The CPSC recommends the following maintenance schedule:

• Check nuts and bolts twice a month and tighten as needed.
• Oil moving metal parts as directed by the manufacturer.
• Check to make sure protective caps and plugs that cover bolt ends and ends of tubing are in place and tight. Inspect twice a month and replace as needed.
• Check the condition of the equipment, looking for signs of wear and tear such as broken or missing components, bent pipes or tubing and splintering wooden surfaces. Repair as necessary.
• Check swing seats, ropes, chains and cables monthly for deterioration and replace as needed.
• Clean, sand and repaint rusted areas with a non-lead-based paint as needed.
• Remove plastic swing seats in cold weather, if recommended by the manufacturer.
• Rake loose-fill surfacing materials periodically to prevent compaction and maintain the appropriate depths.

Though all these precautions may seem overwhelming, taking the time to make play structures as safe as possible will allow your children to develop and grow through play for years to come.

This article was originally printed in the March 2007 issue of Connecticut Parent Magazine