We have received recent reports of big kids playing in unsafe ways on our playgrounds and also disregarding requests from adults asking them to play more gently on our playgrounds. Misuse of playground equipment or disregard for smaller kids creates a dangerous situation for everyone.
We believe that adult supervision is the most important thing we can do to keep kids safe. Even if you have a big kid, they don’t always make decisions we would like them to be making when they are unsupervised. Please consider whether or not your big kid should be left unsupervised when around the community and consider having a conversation with them about how you’d like them to handle requests from other grown-ups with respect to their behavior around other kids.
In addition to adult supervision, teaching kids about how to be safe is equally important. We want everyone to be able to play safely together and so we’ve pulled some suggested safety tips from Nemours KidsHealth that you can teach your own kids. You can find the full list of tips for playground safety online at: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/playground/html.
From Nemours KidsHealth
Kids should know to:
- Never push or roughhouse while on jungle gyms, slides, seesaws, swings, and other equipment.
- Use equipment properly — slide feet-first, don’t climb outside guardrails, no standing on swings, etc.
- Always check to make sure no other kids are in the way if they’re going to jump off equipment or slide, and land on both feet with their knees slightly bent.
- Leave bikes, backpacks, and bags away from the equipment and the play area so that no one trips over them.
- Always wear a helmet while bike riding, but take it off while on playground equipment.
- Never use playground equipment that’s wet because moisture makes the surfaces slippery.
- Check playground equipment in the summertime. It can become uncomfortably or even dangerously hot, especially metal slides, handrails, and steps. So use good judgment — if the equipment feels hot to the touch, it’s probably not safe or fun to play on. Contact burnscan happen within seconds.
- Wear clothes without drawstrings or cords. Drawstrings, purses, and necklaces could get caught on equipment and accidentally strangle a child.
- Wear sunscreenwhen playing outside even on cloudy days to protect against sunburn.