How Can Parents Ensure Playground Safety While Encouraging Free Play
Playground safety is vital, while play structures act as a fun element for children, it can sometimes be dangerous if it is not maintained properly. Common wound or bruise in the playground usually involves- falls, equipment failure, collisions, and entrapment. Unsafe playground structures or equipment can cause serious accidents which can eventually lead to death. Whether you are at a public park or school, it is essential to support a safe outdoor playground to avoid any sort of accidents.
Some of the playground safety tips
- Adhere to national or state level safe plan- The national program for playgrounds, helps the community to look at critical play area safety issues. These plans stand for supervision, age appropriateness, fall surfacing, and equipment maintenance.
- Stress Supervision – Adult supervision is one of the most beneficial defenses kids can have against playground safety. Parents can look for potential playground hazards. If any sort of playground activity takes place then take proper action against the wound or bruise.
- Provide proper surface – The most common safety tip is fall surfaces. Fall surface refers to the surface of the playground on which it is built. Unacceptable surfaces for playgrounds consist of cement, grass, and dirt. These tough surfaces could increase the probability of severe accidents. If a kid by chance falls down, they should fall down on loose-fill materials maintained at 12-inches to decrease the risk of a severe injury.
- Maintain Equipment – Proper playground maintenance is very important as it poses a great risk for children. It is the duty of playground and park administrators to check the structures regularly to avoid any kind of mishap.
- Remove recalled equipment – Once in a while a piece in the playground equipment is recalled, and when this takes place it should be immediately replaced immediately.
- Protection from the element – The weather condition greatly affects playground safety. Kids are at high risk when they are in the playground when it is too hot or too cold. When the temperature rises, you should remind adult supervisors to check the playground surfaces before allowing kids to play on them, so that they don’t get burned due to the hot surfaces.
Proper supervision can help children safe on playground equipment. Children should play with age-appropriate equipment, and the adult should be monitoring it. This is the only way to ensure children are playing while maintaining safety.