Don’t let playground safety slide

Kids can be risk-takers when they’re busy exploring a playground. That’s part of childhood: learning new skills through play and testing their limits. 

Sometimes those risks end in injuries. But while scraped knees and bruises might be inevitable, serious playground injuries can often be prevented. Parental involvement is key to insuring children are protected, even if they’re not playing under the parent’s watchful eyes.

 According to an analysis published in 2023 in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, if an elementary school-aged child is injured at school, odds are the injury happened on the playground. The report cited figures from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) showing that each year, more than 200,000 children land in hospital emergency rooms with playground injuries.

 Parents should take a good look at the playgrounds their child will be spending time on to get a first-hand understanding of the equipment. And they should also talk to their kids about the types of injuries that risky behavior can cause.

Reduce the risk of falls

One of the injuries it’s most important to protect kids against is concussion. This is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that can happen because of a blow to the head or other event that causes the child’s brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging the brain cells. According to a survey reported by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), almost 7 percent of children 17 and under have at one time had symptoms of concussion or brain injury.

Concussions and most other playground injuries are inflicted in falls, most often from monkey bars, climbing equipment, and swings. Here are some guidelines that can minimize this danger:

• Structures more than 30 inches high should be spaced at least 9 feet apart. Elevated platforms should be flat and well-drained to keep them from becoming slick and dangerous, and protective barriers and guardrails should be in place.
• Platforms for toddlers should be no more than 32 inches above the ground and should be equipped with guardrails and/or protective barriers that surround the platform, except for entrance and exit openings. The maximum clearance opening without a top horizontal guardrail should be 15 inches.
• Falls can also be less severe if there’s protective surfacing that extends 6 feet in all directions from most equipment. With swings, this zone should extend twice the height of the suspending bar, both in front and behind the swings. Appropriate protective surfacing includes any material tested to American Society for Testing and Materials Standards, including:
  • Pea gravel
  • Sand
  • Shredded/recycled rubber mulch
  • Wood chips
  • Wood mulch (not treated with chromated copper arsenate)
  • Unitary surfaces (e.g., safety-tested rubber mats)
  • Inappropriate surfacing materials are asphalt, carpet, concrete, dirt, and grass
  • Loose-fill protective surfaces should be filled at least 12 inches deep

Head entrapment

While falls inflict the largest number of injuries, head entrapment is also a serious concern, since it can lead to strangulation and death. Openings present an entrapment hazard if the distance between any interior opposing surfaces is greater than 3.5 inches and less than 9 inches. A child’s head may become entrapped when the child enters an opening either headfirst or feet first.

Ironically, bicycle helmets — an important piece of safety equipment — increase instances of children becoming stuck in spaces that would normally not be considered hazardous. Don’t let your child loose on the playground with their helmet on. And find out whether your child’s school or daycare has rules against children wearing bicycle helmets on the playground. If it doesn’t, it should.

Frequent inspections

Because sharp points, corners, and edges may cut or puncture a child’s skin, inspect playground equipment to be sure all metal edges are rolled or have rounded capping, and all wooden parts are smooth and free from splinters. Frequent inspections are necessary, as these hazards are often created through simple wear and tear. Dangerous hardware — such as open “S” hooks on swings or protruding bolt ends — need to be repaired or replaced. Tripping hazards such as exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks should be eliminated or repaired. Ask how often your child’s school or daycare conducts inspections to find and address these deficiencies.

Supervision

Children’s creativity can create some special challenges on the playground because they will sometimes use the equipment in unintended and unanticipated ways. That means adult supervision is imperative.

Supervisors should make sure that children are wearing appropriate footwear and stop dangerous horseplay. Ask whether your child’s school has its playgrounds supervised whenever children are using it. 

And if you’re the one in charge, keep your eyes on the playground.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control, National Library of Medicine; Consumer Products Safety Commission; National Safety Council

The information included here was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, SI, and its employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with any training, materials, suggestions, or information provided. It is the user’s responsibility to confirm compliance with any applicable local, state, or federal regulations. Information obtained from or via Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, SI, should not be used as the basis for legal advice and should be confirmed with alternative sources.  

3/2025