Playground Safety Part 2

Each year, more than 200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries associated with playground equipment. Most injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground.

Use this simple checklist to help make sure your local community or school playground is a safe place to play.

Public Playground Safety Checklist

• Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
• Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
• Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart.
• Check for dangerous hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends.
• Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
• Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
• Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks.
• Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
• Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition.
• Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they're safe.

A Grandpa Richard Recommendation: I highly recommend that you print and use the following booklet about playground safety, courtesy of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is a 13 page PDF booklet aimed at 3 to 5 year olds. Little Big Kids. Print it and then go through it with your children before heading to the local playground.

Playground Safety Part 1