Playground Safety Tips for Babies and Toddlers
One of the best and most fun parts of childhood, in many people’s memories, are those of time playing outdoors on a swing set or playset. Swings, slides, sandboxes, hanging bridges, trapeze bars, you name it! Whether it entails a walk to the public park or just stepping outside in your own backyard, playing in a safe way on a safe playset will always ensure fun for the whole family.
At Adventure World Play Sets, safety is at the core of our service: be it designing, creating, building or installing, everything is done considering safety first. Here are some ideas for you to do to make sure that your youngest ones stay safe as they enjoy fun time outdoors!
- Wear appropriate attire: check that your toddlers and babies have no cords or drawstrings hanging out of their jackets, sweatpants or sweatshirt; these could get stuck or be pulled or stepped on, creating a hazard. Also, it is important to check that they are wearing the right kind of shoes, like sneakers that can be held in place by shoe laces or velcro strips, instead of Crocs or sandals, which can easily slip off, making the chances of falling bigger
- Take turns: one of the greatest challenges for the little ones is to learn to wait for their turn but it’s important to model it and show them that accidents can happen when you don’t wait for your turn, like falling on top of someone who was on the slide before you! Sharing is a great value to teach kids, and it should go hand-in-hand with sharing time on the different features of a play set.
- Don’t jump off the swings: When your kids are very little, they probably won’t even attempt the acrobatics older kids love to try out, but as they get older and get out of baby-bucket swings and onto a belt swing, the temptation to jump out can arise. The best thing to do is simply say it’s not allowed because they are too little and could hurt someone or be injured.
- Avoid walking in front of swinging kids: When waiting for their turn, little kids can walk up behind or in front of the swings, risking getting hit. Make sure they understand it’s a dangerous thing to do and show them other things they can try, like using the slide or playing in the sand box, when others are swinging.
- Don’t climb up the slides: granted, using the slides to climb upwards is also a great strength workout and helps with balance too, but toddlers and babies should be supervised at all times since attempting to climb up could cause an accident with children sliding down.
- Be careful on the monkey bars: although monkey bars are not designed to have babies or toddlers on them, in many cases parents pick up their little kids so that they can hold on to the bars while being carried. Make sure that you don’t let go of them even if it is to test their strength for a second or two, babies and toddlers do not have the strength to carry their own weight and could take a nasty fall.
- Make sure that your playset is always in good condition: if you are in your backyard on your own playset it’s always easier to keep maintenance in check, but if you are on a playset or swing set in a public park, watch out for ragged edges, damaged swing seats, splintering wood, sharp metal parts or anything else that could represent a safety hazard for your kids.
- Check that the area is clean and safe: again, doing this at home is very easy, but you’d be surprised how some people don’t respect public playing areas and leave their trash around, including glass bottles or other objects that could be dangerous or simply annoying to have around. Check out the play area before you let your little ones play there.
Enjoy All of These Playground Games for Kids
With Adventure World Play Sets you can bring the excitement of the playground to your very own backyard! With our brightly colored sets and our gorgeous custom designs, as well as all the fun features we offer, you can have a playset as exciting as the ones you see in parks, built to last and above all else, with safety in mind. If this sounds like something you’d like for your family to enjoy at home, go to www.adventureworldplaysets.com and find a dealer near you to get the conversation rolling and check out all the possibilities!
Find Your Playset Dealer