How to Prevent Injuries on the Playground
Playgrounds offer kids fresh air, friends and fun. However, faulty equipment and unsafe surfaces can lead to injuries.
Safe playgrounds feature a soft surface like wood mulch, shredded rubber or wood chips. Hard surfaces like asphalt and concrete can cause severe injuries if a child falls.
Parents, caregivers, teachers and other adults should regularly inspect playground equipment for hazards. 안전 토토 사이트 스타존
Age-appropriate play equipment
Age-appropriate play equipment is important for child safety. Kids need to push themselves and test their boundaries, but this can be dangerous if they are exposed to equipment that is too challenging for them. It can also lead to injuries.
For example, kids ages 2-5 need to have access to low climbing structures, crawl tunnels and low balance beams. They also need to have access to sensory equipment, such as activity panels that stimulate their visual, tactile and auditory senses.
These types of equipment can help children develop coordination, social skills and creativity. Age-appropriate equipment also helps prevent children from becoming bored with a particular piece of playground equipment and abandoning it altogether. To avoid injury, the surface underneath and around playground equipment should be soft and shock-absorbing, such as wood chips, cypress mulch or rubber tiles. This will help reduce the risk of head trauma, which can result from a fall from a height. 해외 축구 무료 보기 고화질
Shock-absorbing surfaces
Kids are energetic and active, which means that they fall sometimes. Falls are the leading cause of playground-related injuries, especially head injuries. These injuries can be reduced by using a shock-absorbing surface under equipment and around the playground. The surfacing material should be designed to minimize g-forces and HIC (head injury criterion) according to government safety standards.
One option is rubber tiles, which are made of bonded recycled rubber. They’re durable, affordable and come in a variety of colors. They also require low maintenance and are ADA accessible.
Another option is loose-fill natural surfaces, such as engineered wood fiber and recycled rubber mulch. These materials provide adequate shock absorption and are safe for children to play on. However, they must be tested to ensure that they meet safety requirements for a playground. The American Society for Testing and Materials, or ASTM, sets these safety standards. This organization has several test methods for evaluating these types of loose-fill materials. 무사고 놀이터
Adult supervision
Children should never be left unsupervised on the playground. Supervision involves watching, counting and listening to children while they play. It also means knowing safe playground rules and intervening when inappropriate behaviour occurs.
One of the biggest causes of playground injuries is climbing equipment that is too high. Injuries are also caused by swings that are too close together or by using improper etiquette on climbing equipment (e.g., hands first on the slide and no pushing or shoving).
Adult supervision must be attentive. If a child is injured, the adult must remain nearby and assess the situation. In addition, the adult should be able to contact another adult for assistance without leaving the children. Walkie-talkies or an approved cell phone (used only in emergencies) are good options for this. Supervision should be adapted to the age of the children. Younger children need more supervision than older kids. This may require adjusting the ratio of adults to children on the playground.
Inspect the playground before your child uses it
While age-appropriate equipment and shock-absorbing surfaces help reduce playground injuries, the best way to prevent them is through close adult supervision. This includes teaching children how to use the equipment and ensuring they stay within their physical abilities. It also means inspecting the playground and reporting any hazards to the people who operate it.
In addition to checking for equipment that is not anchored properly, a good inspector should look at the ground surface around the playground. Ideally, it should be 12 inches of soft material such as mulch, sand or a mat designed specifically for playgrounds. This is because falls onto hard surfaces cause more injuries than those on soft ones.
Additionally, a good inspection will check that there are no animal droppings in and around the equipment as these can cause serious injury if stepped on. It will also make sure there are no rocks, tree stumps or other objects that could be tripped on.