Recent statistics have shown that parents who built playgrounds or school owners or parks where there wasn't some form of consulting have been known to have high incidences of playground related injuries. Some of these injuries are concussions as a result of the kid hitting his head on the floor of the playground, bone fracture and joint dislocations. Therefore, it is of high importance that if you have a playground or are interested in building one in the near future, you need to have some safety tips that will guide you and make the playground safer for the children.



1. The floor of the playground must not be made or fashioned from very hard objects. Playgrounds with concrete, dirt, grass, asphalt or even cement floors have a tendency of doing a lot of harm to any child that falls - let's say - from a swing and hits his head. On the contrary, using woodchips, rubber mulch as floorboards will help break the fall of the child and therefore reduce the seriousness of any injury that might result.

2. Ensure that the surface area is not just limited to the equipment area. Extend it to beyond the area where the kids would be playing by a minimum of 6ft.

3. Ensure that all concrete slabs anchoring the playground equipment are safely out fo sight. This might mean that they have to be well inserted or hidden underneath the playground.

4. Pay close attention to the age of the children when constructing the playground. This is vital because equipments that are suitable for school aged children might not be as suitable for toddlers. Also note that your availability during the kids' playtime is absolutely necessary. Toddlers need maximum supervision, but as they grow, you might not have to be available for them. So, you need to build the playground so you can always see what they are doing, and minimize any accidents.

5. Be sure that the guard rails for forts that are as high as 4ft are closely spaced. This is particularly for the prevention of the child's head getting trapped between the rails. The guardrails also should not be shorter than thirty eight inches (38in) for school kids.

6. It is also important that the ladder rungs and every other opening situated at the lower end of the equipment be a minimum of nine inches in width.

7. Create enough space for the children to be able to run around without necessarily running into each other.

Playgrounds can be a lot of fun and also be safe for your children so make sure you speak with a backyard playgrounds professional for more information.