Playground Equipment Safety Tips

12 Tips to Keep Your Child Safe on the Playground

12 Tips to Keep Your Child Safe on the Playground

Preventing accidents at the playground can keep you and your family from spending hours at the emergency room.  Parent it is important that you teach your child the playground rules so that they understand that the rules are not only for their safety but for the safety of other’s playing on the playground.

  • Never run in front of or behind the swings if someone is using them.  A child can easily be knocked over or seriously hurt.
  • Always check to make sure that the playground equipment isn’t too hot before using it.
  • Parents always supervise your child and if you decide to sit down to watch your child make sure that you can see your child from every angle.
  • Remove any strings or necklaces from your child so that it doesn’t get caught on the playground equipment and possibly choke or strangle your child.
  • Do a quick check to see if there are any dangerous items on the playground before allowing your child to play.  Check for items such as glass, broken equipment, or other harmful items that your child might pick up on the playground.
  • Look for handrails on play ground equipment, especially, on stairs, bridges, around slides, ect.  Do teach your child to use handrails when climbing stairs or walking on the playground equipment.
  • Never allow your child to take off their shoes.  Often times there is glass or other sharp objects on most public playgrounds.  A child who takes off their shoes can end up with burns on the bottom of their feet if the equipment is hot.
  • Never play on wet play ground equipment.  Wet equipment can cause your child to slip and fall.
  • Don’t forget to apply sunscreen on your child to prevent sunburns.
  • Do avoid going to the playground between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM when the sun is the hottest and most harmful.
  • Teach your child to always go down the slide one at a time and never go down the slide head first.  They should always slide down on their bottom.  I realize that it is fun do go down the slide headfirst but going down a slide headfirst could lead to a serious head injury.
  • Always sit down on the swings and never jump off of them while they are moving.
  • Some parks have started adding splash pads.  These are a great idea and help your child cool off during the summer months.  It is important to use water safety tips when using a splash pad and never allow your child to run on the splash pad.

Does your family go to the park to play during the summer months?

Comments

16 responses to “12 Tips to Keep Your Child Safe on the Playground”

  1. Cheryl@OntheOldPath Avatar

    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.

    1. Christy Avatar

      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.

  2. Pepper Tan Avatar

    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.

    1. Christy Avatar

      I am usually pretty cautious with my kids, the park is usually a rare treat.

  3. Andrea Avatar

    Good tips! The playground we go to most often actually still has those little rocks. They drive me CRAZY!

    1. Christy Avatar

      Wow Andrea, I thought most parks were doing away with those tiny annoying rocks for safety reasons.

  4. Tad - (ScientologyParent) Avatar

    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!

    1. Christy Avatar

      Thank you for adding this comment. I didn’t even think about older kids causing problems on the playground. 🙂

      1. Tad - (ScientologyParent) Avatar

        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.

        1. Christy Avatar

          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?

  5. Tom B Avatar

    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.

    1. Christy Avatar

      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.

  6. Marcie Avatar

    I see some great reminders here for park safety.

    1. Christy Avatar

      Thank you Marcie 🙂

  7. Courtney~Mommy LaDy Club Avatar

    I always burned my tushy on the slide too;)

    1. Christy Avatar

      Glad I am not alone. 🙂