Playground Safety

Summer is almost here - the time for kids to be out on the playground!! But playgrounds can be dangerous places for kids if yours doesn't meet new safety guidelines.

I remember teaching back in the 1980's when our local Parent Teacher Organization funded the renovation of our playground at school. In a huge teacher, parent, and community effort, we spend one whole Saturday working with the hired consultant to construct a tire playground complete with tunnels, bridges, rope swings, and towers - all constructed from old tires. It was beautiful and the kids loved using it over the years. It required very little maintenance and was a great addition to our outdoor facilities. The only thing I remember needing to be done was changing the ground cover material at one point to meet current codes. Tire playgrounds are still quite popular today. See also Scrap Tire News.

How can you tell if the playground your child uses is safe? The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a fact sheet covering home playground safety tips. They give information about safe materials for protective surfacing, fall zones, swing spacing, and maintenance. It is a site well worth checking out if you are planning playground, or want to evaluate the playground your children now use.

Another great place to check is the National Program for Playground Safety. This comprehensive site has information on playground safety, planning playgrounds, fall surfacing guidelines, and more. You can also register for Safety School at this site.

At this same site, adults can view a report card of playground safety by state, find safety tips, and rate their own playground using the online tools. There is even a playground newsletter (and archives) which can be read online if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The National Program for Playground Safety also sponsors National Playground Safety Week each April. Check to see if your state took part this year, and how your state compared to others. If your state wasn't involved this year, you may want to start an effort to get it involved in 2007.

The Kids Health for Parents site also has a great article for parents. It covers topics such as playground safety, playground safety guidelines, surfaces and spacing, making sure equipment is safe, teaching your kids about playground safety, and safety of playground equipment such as swings, slides, and seesaws.

So, with summer fast approaching - get out to the fun and sun on the playground. But before you go - make sure that the place where your kids play is SAFE!

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