Genesee County Health Department

Better Life Through Better Health

Safety on the Playground

Children enjoy spending time at the playground. Playing with friends at the park, school or in the backyard helps to develop cognitive, motor, and social skills. But a child can be seriously injured on a playground if children and adults do not follow safety rules. 

Over 200,000 American children are injured each year on playgrounds, requiring a visit to an emergency room. At least 426 Genesee County children visited an emergency room in 1998 for playground injuries. Over 50% of playground accidents are caused by falls to hard surfaces. 

Any playground equipment or surface could be a risk. Many injuries occur when children fall off swings, monkey bars, climbers or slides. Proper equipment choice, placement and maintenance can prevent many injuries. Parents can help prevent their child from being injured by checking playgrounds for unsafe conditions and following a few simple guidelines.

• Never leave children unattended at the playground or on equipment.

• Teach children how to properly use playground equipment and make sure the equipment is age appropriate.

• The surface under equipment should cushion falls. Good materials to use are rubber, wood chips, wood mulch, sand or fine to medium gravel.

• Playgrounds should be large enough for all equipment. Allow at least six feet of space around each piece of equipment, away from buildings and other objects. Two pieces of equipment should be at least twelve feet apart.

• Perform regular maintenance checks, looking for loose nuts, bolts, and clamps, sharp edges and rusted areas.

• Remove hood and neck drawstrings from all children’s outerwear to prevent strangulation.

• Report unsafe conditions to the school, public agency or owner of the playground and equipment.

To learn more about playground safety call the Genesee County Health Department at 257-3591.