Creating a safe outdoor play area

The purpose of an outdoor play area is to provide creative and fun activities for children of all ages

. Safety is becoming a major concern recently and the responsibility of ensuring that playgrounds are as safe as they can be in their design falls to the designers and manufacturers of the equipment used.

There has never been much sense in wrapping children up in cotton wool, as the saying goes, so when we talk of safety, we don't mean making everything out of marshmallows! Children should be encouraged to make their own risk assessments and one of the ways in which park designers can help is to create more challenging equipment suited to various age groups; i.e. for older children the slides may be on a much larger scale than a slide designed for 3 year olds, and a swing for toddlers will usually incorporate a safer toddler seat in it whereas swings for older age groups will be open.

From the ground up, a well designed playground will have surfaces installed with impact absorption specially catered for the equipment on it. This could be something as simple as recycled wood chippings (play bark) or rubber mulch or it could be something more specialised and fun like play carpet or wetpour both of these come in various colours so they not only create a safe space, they make that space colourful too! The parks that are more prone to accidents are those with concrete, asphalt or similar surfaces.

As for the apparatus itself, before it is dispatched the manufacturers will do basic safety checks that test for overall quality. The first and arguably the most obvious check before dispatch, is to ensure there are no missing or broken parts. Each park will have the correct amount of nuts and bolts to hold the integrity of each structure according to the amount of wear and tear they are expected to receive.

In the design of equipment where there are openings for children to climb through, these must be designed wide to avoid trapping. Swing frames are thought to only safely hold two swings to one frame so a safe park will demonstrate this. On the swings themselves, and any other equipment that uses linking or chains, these will be checked for broken or otherwise damaged parts. All links should be closed and smooth, this minimizes the risk of trapping and cuts; in other words, things that children won't necessarily watch out for.

The best and most safe outdoor play apparatus will be durable against many things. It should be designed bearing weather-wear in mind. For example, it should be strong against wind, durable against the rain (to avoid rust for as long as possible) and in general it should be hardwearing against long term, heavy duty usage.

Creating a safe outdoor play area

By: Pete Tooley

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