Playground Safety

Routinely coaching children on playground safety rules before they visit the playground can help them understand how to safely use equipment and empower them to behave responsibly. Common playground safety rules include:

In conjunction with adult supervision and a buddy system for older children, these child safety rules can help prevent injuries and other serious playground accidents like concussions and asphyxiation.

Playground rules are designed to keep children safe, but even when children do their best to follow them, accidents and injuries can still happen quickly. Asking questions about what safety protocols will be in place when other adults are in charge of our children, such as friends and family, babysitters, daycare and school staff or fellow parents hosting playground playdates, can feel uncomfortable. But it’s important to know what supervision will be available.

Maintaining constant supervision at the playground can be a challenge for anyone and adults are often responsible for more than one child at a time. Some playgrounds may have blind spots as well. Picking a strategic vantage point can help. Using a buddy system with older children can also ease some of the difficulty of supervising multiple children on large playground spaces.

Understanding children’s capabilities is key when choosing which playgrounds to visit and which equipment to use. For example, flat surfaces made of softer materials such as turf or mulch that can mitigate injury in the case of a fall are well suited for children who are still learning to walk.

Playgrounds typically provide distinct play areas for different age groups. Experts recommend that children younger than five years old play in separate areas from older children to avoid accidentally being knocked over, for example, or overwhelmed with older childrens’ more physical play.

Playground equipment is designed with the needs and abilities of specific age groups in mind. Use of playground equipment beyond a child’s physical skill development can result in injury.

Across the country, playgrounds present a number of common hazards. Preparing children for these dangers and dressing them with these risks in mind can go a long way in preventing playground-related injuries. Common dangers include:

Awareness of common playground dangers can help adults know what to look for when supervising children as they play. Individual pieces of playground equipment can present their own specific set of risks as well.

Of all moving playground equipment, swings are the most common cause of child injuries. In order to stay safe:

Swinging can calm children and help build their sensory skills. Maintaining these simple precautions can help prevent injury.

Seesaws require a degree of cooperation and may be unsuitable for young children. In order to prevent injury:

More recent designs have measures meant to prevent sudden drops when the weight is removed from one side, however, adults should always be wary of the risks associated with seesaws.

Careful use of playground slides is important to prevent injury. When using the slide:

Additionally, it is unsafe for adults to go down slides with children on their laps. Slides are typically safe as long as children (and adults) exercise caution.

Rock walls, ladders and even monkey bars are common playground equipment and present a specific challenge to children. When using climbing equipment:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are a group of 5,000 man-made chemicals widely used in a broad range of consumer products. Experts have raised concerns that rubbers made from recycled tires that are used in playgrounds across the United States have been contaminating children with the PFAS.

PFAS do not break down and can accumulate in the human body over time. It is believed that almost all Americans have at least a small amount of these chemicals in their bloodstream. Side effects of exposure to these chemicals can include low infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, thyroid hormone disruption and certain types of cancers.

To best protect children from exposure to these chemicals on playgrounds, adults should do their best to not allow children to eat or drink on them, avoid playing on these surfaces during hot days and have children wash their hands after contact.

Adults should examine playgrounds for any potential safety hazards that are present. If any equipment damage or dangerous conditions are found, they should be reported to the school, town/city or private entity in charge of playground upkeep.

Parents should feel comfortable coming together to lobby for safety upgrades as well. Communities can put pressure on playground operators like local governments to implement changes that will make it safer for children to play.