Playground Equipment Safety

by Ethan Cole
 
 
Playground equipment safety is a must for any parent or teacher, or really anyone who is supervising small kids at play. Ensuring good playground safety requires several things. First of all, there must be good playground safety rules for the kids to make sure that they don't abuse the equipment in a way which can cause danger. Second of all, the playground equipment itself must be inspected, and be insured of being safe. Third, there must be proper supervision by an authority who can do all that they can to ensure playground safety.
 

The playground safety rules are really a matter of common sense for adults, but common sense is anything but common among small children! This is why an adult should set the playground safety rules and make sure that everyone knows them. A helpful strategy is to make sure that the kids repeat the laws back to you, so that you can check that every one of them has heard and understood them. Now, to set good playground safety rules, you must know the playground. For example, if the slide is particularly tall, you should set rules making sure that one kid has finished sliding before the next one starts to climb the latter. If there is a swing set, you should tell the kids not to run under it. Things like that, which would occur to any adult, won't necessarily occur to small children, and so you should spell them out for the kids.
 
The most important factor, however, for good playground safety, is good equipment. You must do the job of inspecting it yourself, making sure that the swings are on good strong chains, that all railings are firmly intact, and all steps are solid. You can always buy new equipment that is professionally certified for superior playground safety.
 
Then, of course, there is the most important rule of playground safety: good adult supervision. This is not as simple as you might think. On a small playground with few toys, it might be enough just to keep an eye on the kids so that they don't get in to any trouble, but if there is more to it, then you must use more elaborate methods of supervision. The best way to supervise kids is to make them come by frequently to check in. That way, they can't wander too far off, and you will always know where they are.