The Metro West Daily News reported this morning that starting this week, students at Warren School in Ashland will not be able to enjoy the brisk autumn air during recess because the playground was closed Friday. This came after playgrounds around the district were inspected last week, and Warren School’s did not uphold basic standards of playground safety.
Melanie Lewis, a parent of two Warren School students, confirmed this. She said that children on the playground were swinging a 12-foot metal chain last week after the end came free from rotten wood. Officials inspecting the playground found cracking and rotting in many areas, as well as a hole in the slide. Parents testify that they have to watch their children extra carefully when the play in the playground after soccer games. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
It is unfortunate that the playground is closed, but this situation is one familiar to many schools, where no action is taken until it is too late. Playground safety is of upmost importance. In many commercial playgrounds and schools, the playground equipment is sadly out of date and falling apart, but schools choose to spend on textbooks and other education related supplies, rather than the playground.
Many of the schools that are vigilant about their playgrounds are choosing rubber mulch for the playground surface. This innovative new flooring provides the highest standards of playground safety, with extra shock absorbency. It also comes in all colors for a look that is pleasing to the eye.
Playground equipment does not have to be fancy, but it must be safe. Rubber mulch is just that, as well as economically smart because the mulch does not weather or disintegrate, needing minimal maintenance. School superintendents and principals have a responsibility to ensure that their playgrounds are safe in every way.
In a turbulent economy, there is little room for extra government funding and programs. One area that is still receiving grants and assistance is playgrounds and educational play for children. Free time and safe places for children to play are integral to their childhood. The town of Mount Airy is one recipient of such funding, with an extensive expansion of their playground and rec room.
Councilmen and State Senators of Mount Airy have worked hard to raise the funding necessary for a project of this magnitude, and an estimated three million dollars has been raised. The park will be extended, with a new rec room and a spray park. The park should be completed by next year.
Many communities are seeing the necessity for renovations of parks such as that being done in Mount Airy. A necessary factor in the construction of any park or commercial playground is playground safety. Equipment must be well made and safe for kids, with good, strong lighting to prevent vandalism at night. An integral part of any safe park is a good playground surface.
Children tend to jump from places they shouldn’t, and generally do things that have the potential to cause injury. Studies have shown that rubber mulch flooring is the safest option in playground flooring, due to its superior shock absorbency. In fact, the White House playground is home to Playsafer rubber mulch by Rubberecycle. Playsafer rubber mulch comes in various forms to satisfy different needs. There are rubber wearmats that are placed in high impact areas for extra cushioning. The standard flooring comes in the form of rubber chips and bonded rubber flooring. Rubberecycle also offers rubber curbs to cordon off parts of the playground.
Any community that is considering costly renovations of playgrounds and parks must consider rubber mulch flooring as the safest option for kids.
Childhood obesity is a problem that is plaguing today’s society. Various experts blame it on different factors. Some say that childhood obesity is on the rise because kids today have too much access to junk food and sugary sodas. Others say that technology is to blame, as kids become couch potatoes. These and other aspects of our lifestyle may all be contributing factors.
All agree that a great way to battle childhood obesity is for kids to get out and play; to do physical actions. This does not mean just organized sports, but using their creativity to enjoy outdoor activities. According to this line of reasoning, a playground is vital to battling the bulge in children, and no playground is complete without the necessary safety measures.
Rubber mulch flooring helps parents rest at ease, and children play free, with an extra measure of protection in playground safety. The rubber gives added traction and absorbency to protect from falls. This can be especially reassuring to an overweight child, as the traction makes it easier to run about and play. The Playsafer flooring comes in various forms, to suit different playgrounds and areas. The most common form is rubber mulch chips, which look similar to wood chips. They come in a variety of colors. There is also bonded rubber flooring, which is a hard packed floor if rubber that adds a special springiness to the step. There are rubber curbs that cordon off a play area, as well as wearmats, which are placed in areas of high impact. They add an extra cushion and layer of protection.
Children who are obese are often insecure, especially in the outdoors where their bulk puts them at a marked disadvantage. Secure ground can, quite literally, return a spring to their steps. Parents must do everything in their power to help their children overcome this growing epidemic. Using rubber mulch in playgrounds is a good way to start.
When a simple household product is used by someone of great influence or who is under public scrutiny, the item in question suddenly becomes well known. This is where the idea of celebrity endorsement comes from. Sometimes a product may receive endorsement simply through the free choice of the celebrity using it, without the company paying for advertisement. This is the case with rubber mulch.
When Barack and Michelle Obama moved into the White House, as with all Presidents and First Ladies, they put their personal touch on the residence. In their case, this included a White House vegetable garden and playground, among other amenities. After being contacted by the National Recreation and Park Association, they chose to put Playsafer playground flooring into Sasha and Malia’s playground. There is almost no greater endorsement than being used by the Obamas, and this resulted in a big boom in the rubber mulch industry. Why did they do it?
The Obamas are advocates of the Green Revolution and making this world a safer place for our children. Rubber mulch is made out of recycled tires, offering a perfect solution for tires that otherwise take up space in landfills. There are many benefits to rubber mulch, one of which is its added playground safety. Unlike wood chips that have been used in the past, mulch has an added measure of shock absorbency, helping to prevent numerous injuries in children. Other benefits are its cost effectiveness and low maintenance, and customized colors, but safety of the environment and our children comes first. The Obamas have shown that by choosing to use rubber mulch in the White House playground.
Naysayers argue that the mulch covers the ground, allowing it no oxygen, and that there is the potential for chemicals to leach out of the rubber tires. However, studies have proven otherwise, and the Obamas have embraced this new solution to wood chips that lead to deforestation. They chose Playsafer rubber mulch above other manufacturers for their excellent service, low prices, and high tech methods of producing rubber mulch.
For city and personal playgrounds, Playsafer rubber mulch is now the way to go. If it’s good enough for the President of the United States, it should be good enough for you.
For most people, summer is a time of vacation and relaxation, but for thousands of families each year, it can be a time of medical strife. The National Safe Kids campaign reports that one in four kids ages fourteen and younger sustain medical injuries during the summer that require medical attention. They have also found that forty percent of all injury related emergency room visits, and forty-two percent of all injury deaths happen between the months of May and August. The statistics are chilling, and a frightening wake up call for parents everywhere. There are easy ways to help prevent the principle causes of injuries to children.
Playground Flooring
Is your playground really as safe as you’d like it to be? Studies have shown that rubber mulch is the safest playground flooring on the market. Rubber mulch looks like wood chips, but is made out of recycled rubber, providing an alternative that is friendly to kids and to the environment. The flooring has shock absorbing properties that help prevent injuries in children. Rubber mulch in your neighborhood playground can be the difference between sprained wrists or merely bruises. Check with your neighborhood parks department that the parks and playgrounds in your area are equipped with rubber mulch.
Keep Them Hydrated
Kids are often very busy having a good time, and forget mundane details such as meals and drinks. It is vital to keep your children hydrated with water, especially during long periods outdoors and at the pool. Dehydration is a leading cause of emergency room visits for children, as their small bodies retain less water than adults, and they can rapidly dehydrate to dangerous levels.
Helmets
Whether it’s on a scooter, bike, roller blades, or the like, a helmet is vital. Helmets can be the difference between life and death. Dusk is a particularly dangerous time, as drivers have lower visibility, and may not see a child before it’s too late. Make sure that your kids don’t leave the driveway without a helmet on.
Write to your local officials to ensure that rubber mulch is used in community playgrounds, and keep a large stock of water on hand at all times. Make sure that your kids’ helmets fit well, and are in good condition. Keep your summer experience happy and healthy with the necessary safety guidelines in place.
More than 200,000 playground injuries end up in the emergency room every year. Don’t let your child be next! This may seem extreme, but it is true. Schools around the
U.S are installing Rubber Flooring in their playgrounds to insure their students safety. Rubber Mulch is a smart choice for schools because it’s economical and lasts long.
That’s good because with all the headache that comes with running a school, owners don’t want to be bothered with dealing with the flooring of their playgrounds. At the
end of the day, everyone’s happy. The owners of the schools feel confident that they are doing their best to keep their students safe and the kids actually enjoy it too!
It’s fun and colorful and easy to run around on. If anyone falls, it ends up being a light bounce, as opposed to a hard bang. Parents can relax too, knowing their kids
are safe at school.
Surprisingly, 90% of playground structures are considered unsafe! This may seem freightening being that kids spend most of their time out on the playground and even justoutdoors! You can put Rubber Flooring anywhere your kids play. If you have an empty lot with cement flooring, where the kids bike, skate, or play ball, you may
want to seriously consider Rubber Bonds. The kids are bound to fall, and they will definitely feel more comfortable knowing how soft and bouncy, yet still strong and
sturdy, Rubber Bonds are. As parents, you too will feel much more relaxed when your kids play outside. The injury rate will definatiley decrease!
Mulch is a thing not everyone today consider using. But let me tell you that this is one of the fantastic things that you can use for your garden, if you simply want to lower down the maintenance costs while getting the best desired results.
These Rubberecycle mulches are generally a layer of natural material that can be spread on the top of the soil and are perfectly right for your garden. These conserves the soil’s moisture and are further helpful in improving the soil conditions in your garden by maintaining the right temperature of the soil that is just right in every season.
Rubber Mulches are generally light and admit easy flow of air and water into the soil.
These mulches are available in variety like organic, inorganic and synthetic (like rubberecyle mulches). Organic mulches are usually plant material that decomposes and adds nutrients automatically to the soil. These mulches act as one of the best sources for defending and controlling of weeds. As these reduce water loss to great extent that evaporates during sunny day, your garden therefore needs very less watering.
This reduces much maintenance costs that are nearly impossible without these rubber mulches.
The rubber mulches are also helpful in adding nutrients to the soil. It serves you well for long and acts brilliantly as time saver and money savers for you. Pine bark, shredded leaves, grass clippings, etc. are some of the best used organic mulches that are common these days in garden areas.
These decompose and act as nutrients for your soils thus enhancing the quality of soil in your garden. You can easily use these comfortable mulches following simple steps at your home. Clean and weed the area properly and use them on the surfaces accordingly to get the best results.
There are also the types of Rubberecyle mulch that you can use for your surfaces at gardens and playgrounds and make the surface ready to use.
Let’s Move! has an ambitious but important goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.
Playing outdoors is a major component in fighting childhood obesity, and significantly contributes to the mental and physical health and wellbeing of young people,” said Barbara Tulipane, CEO of NRPA. It is the responsibility of every community to provide children with safe and challenging play environments.”
Let’s Move will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.
When playing outdoors!
1. Don’t forget what’s below your feet! Grass is not an acceptable surfacing for playgrounds. One of the leading causes of injury on playgrounds is falling from playground equipment. To minimize the frequency and severity of injury from playground falls, it is crucial to have certified playground surfacing, such as rubber mulch surfacing installed under and around the equipment on any public playground. This surfacing is certified to have sufficient depth or thickness to minimize impact injuries from falls. Like you would find that when the white house had a playground installed, they chose recycled Playsafer Rubber Mulch and Rubber Curbs from Rubberecycle.com of Lakewood New Jersey.
2. Be an advocate for safety standards. Playground equipment and surfacing have been carefully evaluated by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The standards set by these organizations help ensure that playground equipment and surfacing is age appropriate and designed with the measurement of children’s physical dimensions, skills and abilities in mind. IPEMA runs an industry-leading certification program to test and validate playground equipment and surfacing to meet ASTM standards.
3. Proper installation is key to safety! Playground equipment should be installed by individuals experienced in assembly directions and knowledgeable about the environment surrounding the playground, including soil, drainage and the use of other construction materials, tools, equipment and machinery. The manufacturers of specific pieces of equipment can provide certified installers, or the International Playground Contractors Association can provide assistance.
With the announcement of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to battle childhood obesity, The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) is reminding parents of the importance of providing an hour of free play outdoors in a safe play environment.
Let’s Move! has an ambitious but important goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.
Let’s Move will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.
Join First Lady Michelle Obama, community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, moms and dads in a nationwide campaign to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity.
5 Playground Safety Tips from IPEMA.com
1. Don’t forget what’s below your feet! Grass is not an acceptable surfacing for playgrounds. One of the leading causes of injury on playgrounds is falling from playground equipment. To minimize the frequency and severity of injury from playground falls, it is crucial to have certified playground surfacing, such as rubber mulch surfacing installed under and around the equipment on any public playground. This surfacing is certified to have sufficient depth or thickness to minimize impact injuries from falls. Like you would find that when the white house had a playground installed, they chose recycled Playsafer Rubber Mulch and Rubber Curbs from Rubberecycle.com of Lakewood New Jersey.
2. Be an advocate for safety standards. Playground equipment and surfacing have been carefully evaluated by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The standards set by these organizations help ensure that playground equipment and surfacing is age appropriate and designed with the measurement of children’s physical dimensions, skills and abilities in mind. IPEMA runs an industry-leading certification program to test and validate playground equipment and surfacing to meet ASTM standards.
3. Proper installation is key to safety! Playground equipment should be installed by individuals experienced in assembly directions and knowledgeable about the environment surrounding the playground, including soil, drainage and the use of other construction materials, tools, equipment and machinery. The manufacturers of specific pieces of equipment can provide certified installers, or the International Playground Contractors Association can provide assistance.
4. Check, re-check and then check again. Once the equipment and surfacing are installed have a post-installation safety audit performed by a person certified in playground safety prior to use. This audit will determine if any equipment or surfacing is non-compliant and will help prioritize any issues that should be corrected before the playing begins. Proper installation also includes posting signage about the age-appropriateness of specific equipment.
5. Don’t underestimate maintenance and upkeep. Proper maintenance can be forgotten — but is one of the most important aspects of ensuring safety on a playground. Maintenance processes must be in place on both a routine and long-term basis. Equipment must be checked for signs of damage following severe weather and for signs of vandalism or any other man-made or natural catastrophe. In addition, equipment will show natural wear and tear each year and regular maintenance inspections and replacement processes should be in place to minimize hazards.
Do you want to have a secure playground
for your loved ones? If the answer is yes then you have landed on the right post. Creating a safe and secure playground is an easy task if some tips and techniques are followed.
Nowadays there are many surfacing options available in the market. A high quality and durable surface of a playground makes it secure for children. According to a recent survey done, incidents of accidents in the playground are increasing very fast and there are many people who are trying their best to reduce these incidents.
Have you ever heard of rubber mulch? It is special type of material which is made up of recycled rubber tires. This material is non- toxic and environment friendly. There are many more benefits of rubber mulch. The mulch acts as a cushion in the garden or back yard. It can effective prevent different types of accidents.
The mulch is available in different colors and qualities. You can choose the color according to your need and taste.
It is a good idea to shop online. There are many benefits of online shopping. You can compare the prices offered by various companies.
Don`t forget to plan your budget in advance. In this way you will save some time and money.
Do you want to have a secure 
