Most kids are out for the summer and parents find themselves looking for activities for them to do with their kids. Parents want to keep their kids busy and active during the summer months. As you are finding activities for the kids to do, remember that doing free things can be just as fun and rewarding. I remember when I was growing up my family enjoyed going to the park or playing outside on the swing set that was in my grandmother’s backyard. Playing outside is a great for children to burn off some of their excessive energy and have the opportunity to get some exercise. When your kids are playing at the playground or outside on the family’s it is important to make sure that your kids are following the playground rules to avoid injuries. Injuries on playground equipment account for over 200,000 visits yearly to the emergency room in the United States, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only. The opinions in this post are my own and based upon my own experiences.
I know that most playgrounds in the United States began making their playground equipment safer for kids to play on, especially during hot weather. I am probably giving you an idea of how old I am but I remember when the slides on playgrounds or home equipment were made out of metal. During the hot summer months the metal slides were always hot enough to burn you. Today most playground equipment is made out of a durable plastic so that it doesn’t get as hot, of course, that depends on the color of the playground equipment. I have noticed that the darker colors tend to trap more heat so it is important for parents to check the temperature of the playground equipment before allowing their child to play on it.
I also remember that most playgrounds had those small tiny rocks and my favorite thing to do was dig in the rocks. Of course this probably wasn’t the brightest idea because we often found broken glass in the rocks. If you ever tired jumping out of a moving swing, often times those rocks would send you sliding and if you were lucky you wouldn’t land on your bottom. Today most playgrounds are using woodchips, shredded tires, or those rubber covered tops to protect children from hurting themselves if they do happen to fall on the playground.
16 comments
Great list Christy. We have been to playgrounds where a screw has been sticking out and could have caused harm, so it is always good to have a good look over the equipment. Enjoyed reading this.
A screw sticking out could have caused some type of injury, you would think that the city or owner would take care of maintaining the equipment.
You can never be overly cautious when it comes to your child’s safety. Playgrounds are fun, but they can also be dangerous. Thanks for sharing these tips. Forewarned is forearmed.
I am usually pretty cautious with my kids, the park is usually a rare treat.
Good tips! The playground we go to most often actually still has those little rocks. They drive me CRAZY!
Wow Andrea, I thought most parks were doing away with those tiny annoying rocks for safety reasons.
Great list! One thing I’d definitely add is to keep an eye out for bigger kids than yours who are playing around on the equipment. You may feel entirely safe letting your kid on the playground equipment without assistance, but when there are older kids horsing around, that can quickly get ugly. I’ve had plenty of experience with just that with my two kids – both of whom have been knocked off of equipment & had some nasty falls due to other kids bumping them. So – that’s one I’d definitely add to your list!
Thank you for adding this comment. I didn’t even think about older kids causing problems on the playground. 🙂
Yep. Probably the scariest accident my daughter has ever had was due to horseplay by big kids. When she was two, I was picking her up from preschool, and she was up on a slide platform about 7 feet in the air. She went to the edge of the platform to wave “Hi” to me, and two bigger kids playing tag ran behind her and bumped her right off the platform. She fell HEADFIRST into the barkdust below. I thought they’d killed my daughter – I was mortified. But after a quick cry she was fine. I certainly wasn’t.
Tad I am sorry that you had to experience that, I can’t imagine how scare you were to see your daughter just laying there. I know that I would have been chewing those kids out for not be careful for the younger kids who want to play. Was the older kids parents nearby or were they at the park alone?
I remember burning my butt and feet on those slides as well. Some very practical tips , many playgrounds at home have the shade sail cloth over the top for sun protection. One other thing I would add is to be observant to the other people and what is going on around the playground, as you don’t want to get distracted watching your child.
I am glad that I am not the only one who remembers burning my butt on the slide during the summer time. The daycare that my son goes to has a shade cover over the playground. However, the city owned parks do not.
I see some great reminders here for park safety.
Thank you Marcie 🙂
I always burned my tushy on the slide too;)
Glad I am not alone. 🙂