Safety

Alternative Designs, LLC is here to help you design a safe and fun environment for your facility. Here you can find some of the safety tips and questions that parents or staff members should address before purchasing a new playground or simply adding on to an existing area. Several safety guidelines come in to play when designing a playground. Here are a few questions you can ask your staff and your- self when purchasing new equipment.

1. When was the last playground equipment for this site purchased?
A) If it was before the early nineties you might want to look at purchasing new equipment in the future. Most of the playground equipment from the early 60’s, & 70’s were created with very little safety guidelines, running a risk now for very potential injuries. Also most of the older pieces of playground equipment were painted with a lead base paint.

2. Is the playground surfacing adequate for the playground equipment?
A) In most playground setting you should have at least 8” to 12” of adequate surfacing material under and around the playground equipment. Any of these surfacing materials would be acceptable - wood fiber, rubber mulch, rubber tiles, or a nice pour in place -unitary rubber surface. Falling on the playground is the number one (1) reason for injuries on the playground. Without adequate surfacing this could cause serious injuries and possibly even death.

3. Is the playground equipment adequate for the children that will be playing on it?
A) Make sure when adding new playground equipment, that it is appropriate for the age level of the children at your facility or school.
B) Most playgrounds are designed for either a 2 – 5 age group or a 5 – 12 age group. Being that smaller children in the 2 – 5 age range have a shorter arm and leg span than children in the 5 – 12 age range. Plus the hand size and upper body strength is much greater on the 5 – 12 age groups allowing them to climb on such things as climbing walls. Whereas the smaller children in the 2 – 5 age group would not be able to climb on such a wall since they have not developed the skills that allow a child to climb to such a level, nor do they have the larger hands or upper body strength to help hold onto the wall and allowing them to climb up further.

4. Does the playground present any potential risk such as any of the following…

• Strangulation areas – areas that might catch a string, sleeve, jewelry etc.
• Pinch areas – any area where a child could pinch their hand, fingers etc.
• Protrusion areas – any area that might have something sticking out, can cause serious damage.
• Trip hazard areas - any area that might have something sticking up out of the ground such as a root from a tree, sidewalk, or drainage coverings.

5. Is the playground maintained on a regularly scheduled basis?
A) Playground maintenance is one of the most important parts of having a playground. Making scheduled monthly visits to the playground to check for possibly surfacing issues. Such as– when children swing they tend to displace the fiber under swings. Making sure this surfacing is raked back into the proper areas to keep an 8” to 12” depth is crucial.
B) Also checking for any loose hardware that might have become loose from abundant use – this can help prevent any possible danger of a piece coming off and injuring a child.
C) Making sure your playground equipment does not develop any rust or graffiti over the years. This is another good way to make sure your equipment will last for many years to come.

For further playground safety information you may visit any of the following sites…

www.ipema.com
 

www.cpsc.gov

 

www.astm.org

 

www.nrpa.org

 

www.naeyc.org