Swinging to the sky, moving across the monkey bars, and sliding to the ground are all activities that kids love on the playground. It’s especially fun for children to enjoy these activities from the comfort and safety of their own backyard playground. However, playground-related injuries should be a top-of-mind concern for parents. Consider the following guidelines to keep your kids safe while they enjoy their backyard playground.

·         Cover the areas under and around playground equipment with materials such as wood chips, mulch, pea gravel, or sand to provide padding in case children fall.

·         Don’t hang more than two swings from the same section of a swing support structure.

·         Periodically inspect your playground equipment for wear and deterioration such as rust, chipped paint, cracked plastic, or lose splinters.

·         Don’t place play equipment too close together.

·         Don’t purchase playground equipment with elevated platforms, walkways, or ramps that do not have guardrails and other barriers to prevent falling.

·         Remove potential tripping hazards such as rocks, plant roots, and large toys.

Don’t purchase slides or climbing equipment that is more than 6 feet high for school-aged children or 4 feet high for preschool-aged children.

The Importance of Supervision and Security

Never leave your kids alone on the playground. Supervise them at all times and tell your children right away if they are doing anything dangerous to keep them from doing it again.

Furthermore, make sure your backyard is properly secured from passersby to prevent other children from trespassing on your property to play on your playground without permission. After all, if these kids were to get hurt while playing in your backyard, you could be held liable.

It is very important to protect our kids all the time. At RISE Insurance we can help our customers with risk education and management. For more discussion call us today at 423-541-1111 or send us an email at info@riseins.com.