Although you want your kids to have fun, you also want them to be safe. Before letting your kids play on a public playground, here are the things you should inspect.

1. Space

We expect playgrounds to have the basic structures such as slides, swing sets, and seesaws. However, a poorly planned playground with an overwhelming number of fixed structures could take away a big chunk of grass space.

The beauty of taking kids to the playground is the opportunity that allows them to experience the outdoors within a safe and controlled environment. Boxing them inside fixed plastic and metal structures could end up defeating the purpose of spending time outdoors.

2. Bars and rails

More than fixed play structures, bars and rails could be better for playgrounds. Even if the playground has a lot of them, the playground won’t look cluttered. Although bars and rails seem bare to adults, children have a different way of looking at things. Bars and rails spark creativity and imagination, allowing children to come up with their own structures in their minds.

Keeping things simple will encourage them to communicate and share with other children so that they can play out whatever it is that they have imagined.

Kids are naturally active. They climb over and under and go through almost anywhere they can fit themselves. Bars and rails provide just that kind of active fun. The children exercise their imagination as well as their bodies. Just make sure the play area is floored with rubber mulch for safety.

3. Safety features

No matter how much open space the playground has, or how conducive it is to imagination and sharing, your first consideration should still be safety. Rubber mulch provides great playground flooring. It’s tough enough to be weatherproof but soft enough to break falls. Best of all, rubber mulch is non-toxic, making playgrounds safe even for toddlers.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 9:47 am and is filed under Playground, Playground Safety, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.