Every parent wants his or her child to have a safe place to play. While it may be easier to control the safety of activities and equipment inside your own home, children need time outside. They also need time with other children. Playgrounds are wonderful places to exercise both of these needs. However, you want to be sure that the slides, tire swings, teeter totters, and other aspects of the place where your child plays are safe and well-maintained. Here are some tips for ensuring a safe playground experience for your child.
1. Make sure that there is enough adult supervision. Ideally, you should be able to watch your child while he or she plays. But if you are unable to do this, make sure another adult you trust is there to supervise. If there are many children in your neighborhood who regularly use the playground, you could organize a schedule where all of the parents share responsibility for doing this.
2. Become aware of the playground's layout. Kids are very good at finding hidden spaces to get into mischief. Everyone who shares supervision responsibility should know where these areas are in the playground. Supervision should include walking around and making regular passes by these problem spots, to ensure that mischief does not turn into danger or injury.
3. Equipment maintenance is another huge issue. It is easy to forget about details like rusty screws and weak chain links on swings. These things can result in injury if they are neglected for too long. Find out who is in charge of maintaining the playground's equipment, and whether they regularly check for these things.
4. Make sure repairs are done. From the small details mentioned above, to larger, more visible issues such as chipped paint or broken ladders, playgrounds are in need of constant repairs. Someone needs to be responsible for ensuring that problems are fixed in a timely fashion.
5. Check the surfaces around swings, slides, and other equipment. While grass-covered dirt is fairly safe, dirt that is hard and filled with rocks can be a safety hazard. Even if the organization in charge of the playground cannot afford to put down fancy cushioning, grass can be planted and soft soil can be put down.
6. Find out who owns or controls the playground. Whether the playground is privately owned, attached to a school, or under the control of the city parks department, someone is responsible for it. Network with this organization. If funds are not available for repairs or upgrades, offer to help by fundraising.
Every child, regardless of where they live or how much money their family has, deserves to have a safe and fun place to play outside. No child should have to play among rusty swing sets and broken teeter totters. Creating a safe playground in your neighborhood may take some effort. It may require making phone calls, attending meetings, and rallying other parents who have the same concerns. It may even require getting your own hands dirty and making some of the necessary changes yourself. All of this is worthwhile if it enhances the safety and happiness of your child and other children in your neighborhood.
1. Make sure that there is enough adult supervision. Ideally, you should be able to watch your child while he or she plays. But if you are unable to do this, make sure another adult you trust is there to supervise. If there are many children in your neighborhood who regularly use the playground, you could organize a schedule where all of the parents share responsibility for doing this.
2. Become aware of the playground's layout. Kids are very good at finding hidden spaces to get into mischief. Everyone who shares supervision responsibility should know where these areas are in the playground. Supervision should include walking around and making regular passes by these problem spots, to ensure that mischief does not turn into danger or injury.
3. Equipment maintenance is another huge issue. It is easy to forget about details like rusty screws and weak chain links on swings. These things can result in injury if they are neglected for too long. Find out who is in charge of maintaining the playground's equipment, and whether they regularly check for these things.
4. Make sure repairs are done. From the small details mentioned above, to larger, more visible issues such as chipped paint or broken ladders, playgrounds are in need of constant repairs. Someone needs to be responsible for ensuring that problems are fixed in a timely fashion.
5. Check the surfaces around swings, slides, and other equipment. While grass-covered dirt is fairly safe, dirt that is hard and filled with rocks can be a safety hazard. Even if the organization in charge of the playground cannot afford to put down fancy cushioning, grass can be planted and soft soil can be put down.
6. Find out who owns or controls the playground. Whether the playground is privately owned, attached to a school, or under the control of the city parks department, someone is responsible for it. Network with this organization. If funds are not available for repairs or upgrades, offer to help by fundraising.
Every child, regardless of where they live or how much money their family has, deserves to have a safe and fun place to play outside. No child should have to play among rusty swing sets and broken teeter totters. Creating a safe playground in your neighborhood may take some effort. It may require making phone calls, attending meetings, and rallying other parents who have the same concerns. It may even require getting your own hands dirty and making some of the necessary changes yourself. All of this is worthwhile if it enhances the safety and happiness of your child and other children in your neighborhood.
About the Author:
Teeter totters are the playground equipment supplies that can be shipped to you instantly. For more info, go to http://twirlgoround.com right now.
This article collected, selected and written by: Author Van Hoc
Niche blogs are sometimes referred to as splogs, but this is a misnomer. Even though the desired end result for the niche blogger is to make money...
Get Free Email Updates to your Inbox!
Post a Comment