National Playground Safety Week!

It’s that time of year again! The weather is nice and it’s time to go outside and play. But do you know what to look for to ensure the playground your child plays at is safe? Sometimes the risks do not appear very obvious, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You just need to know what to look for.

 

National Playground Safety Week is April 21-27, 2013 and is sponsored by the National Program for Playground Safety (www.playgroundsafety.org). The National Program for Playground Safety provides many schools, other children’s facilities and parents with the knowledge to prevent injuries and promote safe play.

Follow these tips this Spring and Summer and your kids will definitely have safe and fun play!

• Look for playgrounds with shredded rubber, mulch, wood chips or sand. Grass and soil are not the ideal surface for playgrounds.
• Playground surfacing material should be 12 inches deep and extend 6 feet in all directions around equipment.
• Make sure playground equipment is inspected frequently and kept in good repair. If it’s not, report this to your local Parks and Recreations office.
• Remove hood and neck drawstrings from children’s clothing and outerwear and don’t allow them to wear helmets, necklaces, purses or scarves on the playground.
• Prohibit children to engage in, or play near, any pushing, shoving or crowding around playground equipment.
• Keep toddlers under the age of five in a separate play area, away from equipment which is designed for bigger kids.
• Actively supervise kids on a playground. Just being in the same area isn’t good enough – they need your undivided attention while playing on or around the equipment.