Family Travel: How Safe is Your Child’s Playground?

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

Family Travel: How Safe is Your Child’s Playground? 

Summer time and the traveling’s easy.

And as any traveling family will do, at some point in their journey they’ll just opt to forget the big sights for the day, and  play in a playground.

If they don’t, they should.

Hanging out in playground is a great way to get to know the locals, the scenery and just enjoy each other as a family.

Often I found that a few hours relaxing and picnicking at a playground were more valuable to my family travels than time at a famous attraction. 

But playgrounds are not as innocent as they look.
 
Each year, more than 200,000 kids visit hospital emergency rooms with injuries, most often  when a child falls from equipment onto the ground.

Fortunately more and more playgrounds are using rubber tiles and loose surfacing for playgrounds…different from the recycled tires common to most playground surfaces.

The tires very often contain debris and very fine metal shavings that can hurt and cause injury.


Quaboing, a company that makes safe playground surfaces, has these five quick tips for playground safety on the road:

1. Be sure surfaces around playground equipment are made of rubber or rubber-like materials and have at least 12 inches of wood chips, or mulch, sand, or pea gravel.

 2. Prevent burns on hot metal playground equipment by checking the temperature of steel decks, slides and steps.  On a hot day, these surfaces can reach temperatures high enough to cause serious contact burns in seconds.

 3. Check equipment for sharp points or edges to avoid scratches and cuts.

 4. Look for age-appropriate play areas for kids, and make sure platforms and ramps, have sturdy guardrails to prevent falls.

5 Watch out for stuff like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and large rocks..all things that can cause a nasty fall.

And, be watchful for free-roaming dogs!