National Playground Safety Week is April 22 – 26, 2024

The 2024 National Playground Safety Week is April 22nd – April 26th! Sponsored by the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS), this annual event reminds parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, camp counselors, and others to focus on children’s outdoor play environments. Children are vulnerable to playground-related injuries and fatalities.

The 2024 National Playground Safety Week is April 22nd – April 26th; sponsored by the . This annual event is a reminder to parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, camp counselors, and others to focus on children’s outdoor play environments due to children being vulnerable to playground-related injuries and fatalities.

Keep your child safe on at-home playgrounds by implementing the S.A.F.E Factors and a Safety Checklist.

S.A.F.E.

• Provide proper supervision of children.
• Design age-appropriate playgrounds.
• Provide proper fall surfacing under and around playgrounds.
• Properly maintain playground equipment.

Safety Checklist:

• Adult presence is needed to watch for potential hazards.
• Remove jewelry, ropes, and strings on clothing, they can cause accidental strangulation if caught on equipment.
• If there are crawl spaces, make sure you can easily see a child in that space.
• Provide age appropriate equipment.
  • 3 categories for children:
    • Toddlers (6 months – 2 years old)
    • Preschool (2 years – 5 years old)
    • School-age (5 years – 12 years old)
• Use acceptable play surfaces, i.e., hardwood fiber/mulch, pea gravel, sand, and synthetic materials, i.e., poured-in-place, rubber mats or tiles.
• Perform equipment checks:
  • Is it in good working order?
  • Safe and anchored safely in the ground?
  • No jagged edges or sharp points?
  • No hot surfaces? Surface areas on metal equipment from sunlight can cause burn injuries.
  • S-hooks are entirely closed, bolts are not protruding, there are no exposed footings, etc.?
  • Openings between guardrails and ladder rungs are at least 3.5 inches (to prevent kids getting their heads in) and more than 9 inches (to get out)?
  • Equipment installed at least 6 feet from fences, walls, and trees?

If you don’t have a playground at home, you can visit one the of many playgrounds maintained by the Department of Parks & Recreation in Prince William County. Visit their website to find one near you.

For more information, visit the following websites:

Playground Professionals

Safe Kids Worldwide

Consumer Product Safety Commission

American Academy of Pediatrics

Adventure Turf