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.
Kudos to Rubber Mulch for being the chosen playground safety surface by the white house staff for the first family playground.
Children having fun in a safe environment!
My kids used to come home muddy and dirty from playing outside. I tried to bring them to a park once a week so they can play and not get so dirty. I found a park that had Rubber Mulch. My kids were thrilled! They kept climbing the monkey bars and jumping off! They thought it was so cool that they didn’t get splinters or bruises.
I then decided to put Rubber Mulch in my yard! They were so happy! Their friends started always playing by my house. Here’s the website I ordered it from http://www.rubbermulch.com/playground.htm ,( I live in New Jersey) and my sister got Rubber Mulch to from http://www.rubberecycle.com/ ( she lives in Hawaii)I was really happy with the service!
Till recently, there was a spurt in the number of playground related accidents and fatalities.Even though several playground safety features are incorporated in our playgrounds to make them safer to play on, the hard and unprotected ground proved to be spoilsports to many of us.Falls frequently occur during the course of play and as such, thousands used to get injured or crippled from falls.
But the emergence of playground mulch has changed the scenario for the better.It is an eco-friendly product, unlike many people professes, and is durable and efficient.Rubber mulch is obtained after cleaning used rubber tire treads and granulating them.If spread well in sufficient quantities, it can act as a cushion even if the fall is very heavy and disruptive.
The material is highly reliable since it remains intact even after many years.Pests and weeds cannot destroy it, unlike other mulches.Once installed, you need not worry about replacing and maintaining it.Even heavy rains and winds cannot dislodge it.In addition, colored rubber mulch improves the attractiveness of the playground.This is why people consider playground safety and rubber mulch as blood-brothers.Government authorities are also promoting extensive use of rubber mulch in playgrounds as a safety measure.
A Press Release from PRWEB regarding “Cash for Clunkers” Means More Tires to Recycle into Mulch Says Rubberecycle:
The popular “Cash for Clunkers” program helped the environment, but it also created a surplus of tires that are unsafe for the road. Millions of the tires from clunkers could end up in landfills as a result. Rubberecycle wants to help further the environmental benefits by recycling tires and turning them into mulch products that can be used for playgrounds and landscaping.
Lakewood, NJ October 20, 2009 — RubbeRecycle, a company that recycles tires into mulch for playgrounds, wants to extend the environmental benefits of the popular ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program. The program means over 800,000 cars were traded in for more fuel efficient models. The problem is that there are over 3 million tires from those cars that could end up in landfills.
Used tires can be managed in an environmentally sound manner by making tires into new products and finding new uses.
“RubbeRecycle uses advanced technology to turn tires into new products like playground surfaces, rubber curbing and landscaping mulch,” said Keith Sacks, Vice President of RubbeRecycle.
Cities have been using recycled tire mulch in parks for more than a decade now. The White House recently chose to do the same. They built an environmentally-friendly playground at the nation’s capital. The surface they used is the Rubberecycle’s Mulch, which came recommended by the National Recreation and Park Association and the International Play Equipment Manufacturer’s Association.
“The products made from recycled tires have been shown to be safe for kids and playgrounds. There have been more than a hundred studies over nearly two decades. It’s recommended by the EPA and Consumer Reports has given it two thumbs up. It’s safer than wood mulch, gravel and sand products,” says Sacks.
He went on to say that besides the green aspect, playground safety is a focus: “Playsafer passed the egg test. That is, we dropped an egg from the top of a 14 ft. playground. It landed on our 6-inch cushion of Playsafer, bounced, but did not break,” said Sacks.
The company currently processes between 10,000 and 12,000 tires a day and is designed to handle 2 million scrap tires annually.
About RubbeRecycle
RubbeRecycle introduced top quality rubber surfacing products to the commercial, residential and military markets in 1998. Our playground mulch conforms to all CPSC, ASTM, and IPEMA (The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association) safety guidelines and is ADA approved. The pioneer in the tire recycling industry, RubbeRecycle utilizes the most advanced technology and equipment to recycle tires on site.
The first thing that strikes your mind before leaving your child alone in a playground is whether the surface is safe for your kid or not. In the past wood, sand and gavel have been used for covering theplaygroundarea, but with the invention of mulches made fromrecycled tireshas not only helped improve the aesthetic appearance of playgrounds but also increased the safety of these areas.
These mulches act as cushion for the kids because of their increased shock absorption capacity. Moreover, these do not require much maintenance and do not decompose easily. As compared to the other mulches the rubber mulch does not erode, rot or gets affected by mold and you can be assured that are a lot more safer as compared to other playground covers.
The rubberplayground mulch does not require to be replaced because the rubber chips that they are made of are vulcanized and this makes them indestructible. These mulches are available in different colors and you can also order a color that you want for the playground area. The colors used for the mulches are non-toxic and will not stain the skin or the clothes. They are harmless and even if your kid swallows a piece, there is nothing to worry.
Every year, thousands of near fatal accidents occur in playgrounds around the world. The young and the old alike meet with accidents during boisterous physical activities. As you know, playgrounds are places where people experience spontaneous energy overflows, resulting in heavy falls and other accidents.
But the advent of rubber mulch and its variant, the playground mulch, has brought about a credible solution to this problem. This material, which is obtained after cleaning and processing used rubber tire treads, is being increasingly used as ground cover to playgrounds to act as shock absorbers.
Not only that, playground mulch improves footing and provides more grip. The chances of accidental slips are also minimal in areas where the material is spread. It comes in several colors also. Thus, not only does it prevent accidents, but it adds to the aesthetics of the playground too.
The success of rubber mulch in preventing playground related accidents has been replicated in horse racing arena and military training areas too. Another added advantage is its easy availability. It is easily maintainable too, as the material cannot be eroded by forces of nature, nor it decays like other mulches. In other words, playground mulch is both eco-friendly and user-friendly at the same time.
It is understandable how sweat and dirt can meet furrowed brows and head-shaking from parents. Sweat will most likely make your child smell un-bathed (thanks to particular genetic strains) while dirt can stain clothes and invite viruses. While these are legitimate parental concerns, sweat and dirt from the public playground can actually do your child more good than harm, provided that you’re still there to supervise.
1. They build character
The playground teaches a lot of things: from life lessons to handling bullies, the playground gives your child a place to learn more about himself, to the point of wanting to surpass his limitations. (more…)
Work and school are both important. However, work can demand a lot of your time while school can demand an incredible amount of attention from your children. It’s great if you’re the type of family that takes dinner as an opportunity to talk about how everyone’s day went, but dinner won’t be enough to really know what’s going on in your children’s lives.
When you do get some time off from work and the children get a little break from school, grab the chance to catch up. Take this time to let your children know that you can be their friend too. It’s okay to feel a little awkward, but these 2 tips should make it a fun learning experience for you and your children. (more…)
As parents, we enroll our kids in karate classes to help them stay fit and learn discipline. Children aged 10 and below might find it difficult living the real spirit of the art. They could need a bit of help dealing with the discipline aspect.
No matter how good the sensei is, students are still expected to practice outside the dojo. Practice helps them remember their katas (body positioning and movement exercises) and have a more personal connection with the movements.
Below are 3 tips to help you encourage your children to practice martial arts, even without their sensei around.
1. Read up and understand
Although there is no way you can substitute for the sensei, it will be helpful if you read up on martial arts and understand the underlying philosophies of the art. Go the extra mile and talk to your children’s sensei about your desire to help your kids apply the discipline at home. (more…)
Dance classes provide children a fantastic opportunity to learn more about themselves by artistically expressing how they feel. Although the basic dance techniques do require discipline and a pinch of seriousness, instructors have to keep the children in mind. The younger your class is, the shorter their attention span would be.
The public playground is a convenient and accessible location where you can bring your dance class. You can also take this opportunity to have the children’s parents tag along and sit in for this particular class. (more…)
Till recently, there was a spurt in the number of playground related accidents and fatalities.
As parents, we enroll our kids in karate classes to help them stay fit and learn discipline. Children aged 10 and below might find it difficult living the real spirit of the art. They could need a bit of help dealing with the discipline aspect.
Dance classes provide children a fantastic opportunity to learn more about themselves by artistically expressing how they feel. Although the basic dance techniques do require discipline and a pinch of seriousness, instructors have to keep the children in mind. The younger your class is, the shorter their attention span would be.
