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Playground Safety
Tip Card
Playground
Safety Fact Sheet
Playground Safety
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Each year over 200,000 children receive emergency
department care for playground related injuries. That is one
child every 2 ½ minutes. Play is an essential component
of healthy development in children. Playgrounds provide an
opportunity for children to develop motor, cognitive, perceptual
and social skills. Unfortunately, playgrounds are often the
sites of unintentional injuries. It is the responsibility
of adults to create play environments that are challenging
for children but are also safe.
Often the greatest risks for playground injury occur when:
playground equipment is over 5 feet tall
there is not adequate playground surfacing
playgrounds are not well maintained
children are not supervised.
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SAFE Playgrounds
Playground-related injuries can be prevented by creating a SAFE
playground using the four steps listed below.
Supervision:
It is estimated that more than 40 percent of playground injuries
are related to inadequate supervision. Adult supervision is needed
to watch for potential hazards, observe, intercede and facilitate
play when necessary.
Age
Appropriate Design: Many injuries are a result of children
playing on equipment not designed for their age. Thus, the steps
or railings may be too far apart or require additional strength
and coordination causing children to fall or trip. Most injuries
related to age inappropriateness involve children ages 0 - 4 playing
on equipment designed for children ages 5 - 12. Select age appropriate
equipment and separate play areas for different age groups -- ages
2 to 5 and 5 to 12. These areas should be marked by signage indicating
the age-appropriate areas.
Fall
Surfacing: Statistics indicate that nearly 70 percent
of all playground injuries are related to falls to the surface.
Recent studies also have found that about 80 percent of playgrounds
have unsuitable surfaces. Thus, an important aspect of reducing
playground injuries is to provide cushioned surfaces beneath and
around equipment at depths appropriate to equipment height.
Equipment
Maintenance: Most maintenance
of equipment involves making sure the equipment's surfaces and mechanical
workings are safe. Playgrounds, whether they are old, recently installed
or a just a few years old, need to be inspected. Manufacturer's
recalls, warnings or updates should be observed. CPSC warnings should
be taken into consideration.
Playground Safety
Training
SAFE Playgrounds
This training is offered on request
The playground safety training is a 6 hour course that teaches
participants to identify potential playground hazards and
ways to correct them. This training teaches how playground-related
injuries can be prevented using the SAFE playground model
from the National Playground Safety Institute. The location
selected for the training should have access to or be located
near a playground for hands-on activities.
Course Providers and Contact Information
Free Educational Material
National Links for Playground Safety
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Resources
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