Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children

Appendix 1: Information on Playground Safety

159 Appendix 1 Information on Playground Safety Accidents on playgrounds are the second most frequent reason that children visit the emergency room every year in the United States, with an estimated 200,000 visits per year (bike accidents are the first at 300,000 annual visits). Approximately fifteen children die every year on playgrounds. There are numerous sources of information on playground safety in the public domain, so rather than making this appendix a comprehensive guide to playground safety (which could be a book in itself), I will provide links to this information and will discuss the safety issues I tend to see and/or worry about the most in my travels around playgrounds. Excellent Links about Playground Safety. To start learning more about playground safety, I’d begin with the National Program for Playground Safety at www.uni.edu/playground/. Information is geared toward the public and is organized into different types of playground considerations depending on the venue, including elementary schools, childcare centers, residential homes, and youth organizations. Information is also available regarding playground safety standards, plans and research, safety training, products, and fundraising for a playground. There is also a section specifically geared toward children so that they can be aware of safety issues: www.uni.edu/playground/kids/main.htm. If you thoroughly 160 / Information on Playground Safety read the information on this website, you will have an excellent understanding of playground safety. If you need the expertise of a person who has a comprehensive knowledge of playground safety, you should work with a certified playground safety inspector, or CPSI. A CPSI is proficient with all playground safety recommendations and guidelines and has taken and passed a national exam on playground safety. CPSIs can perform playground safety audits and/or inspections for planned or existing playgrounds; they can also help you develop a comprehensive safety plan for your playground. There is a national registry of CPSIs: ipv.nrpa.org/cpsi_registry/default.aspx. If you go to this registry and put in your ZIP code or your state, available CPSIs and their contact information will be displayed.The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has a link to information about playground safety at www.nrpa.org/playgroundsafety/. The site contains media releases involving playground safety and includes information on how to become a CPSI. You can also download a copy of “The Dirty Dozen” for your personal use; this short pamphlet contains excellent information on the twelve most important things to watch out for regarding playground safety. Playground safety guidelines and standards are available from a number of sources. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) publishes the “Handbook for Public Playground Safety,” which is available at www .cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf and which explains technical information on playground safety standards, guidelines, and recommendations in a straightforward manner. The handbook covers three age groups: toddlers (6–23 months), preschool-age children (ages 2–5) and school-age children (ages 5–12). The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has a number of playground safety standards for purchase that are written in technical language. These standards are typically used by CPSIs and other professionals in playground design and manufacturing. You can search the ASTM site (www.astm.org) with the keyword “playground” to get a list of available standards for purchase. Information on Playground Safety / 161 Head Start Body Start: The National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play contains information and resources geared toward playgrounds for younger children (5 years of age and younger, with a focus on children ages 3–5). The section on their site entitled “Creating High Quality Outdoor Play Spaces” (www.aahperd.org/headstartbodystart/playspace/ tools-and-resources.cfm) contains excellent information about items to include in a play space, as well as recommended publications on outdoor play spaces. The Play Space Assessment Survey on this webpage is an excellent rubric for examining a play space intended for 3–5 year olds and for determining what to add (or subtract) to enhance a playground for children in this age range. As a person who has spent a lot of time on playgrounds, as well as someone who is a CPSI, my concerns are based on theory and practice. I will state at the outset that this is my personal list of concerns about playground safety; as I tell my students, when n = 1 (n being the number of points...