Below are excerpts of an email from Office of Head Start Director Khari M. Garvin.
National Playground Safety Week is April 22–26, 2024. This special week is the perfect time to celebrate our commitment to creating a fun, engaging, and safe outdoor learning environment for children.
Playgrounds can be a great support for children’s learning, physical, and social development. An outdoor learning environment that is safe, stimulating, and provides age and developmentally appropriate equipment, structures, and activities fosters a child’s physical growth, creativity, social skills, and emotional resilience. In fact, we are learning more every day about the benefits children get from being outside.
Nature-based learning does not require fancy playground equipment. Think about how outdoor spaces can reflect enrolled children’s language and culture. Well designed and landscaped outdoor areas can include opportunities for climbing, rolling, jumping, and running along with space for children to work in small groups, do dramatic play, or work in gardens. Instead of large equipment, outdoor areas can have small hills, partially submerged logs, raised beds, and so much more. Such areas are often safer and provide more opportunity for moderate to vigorous activity, creative play, and learning across all domains.
Safety First!
As we embrace the joys of outdoor play, let’s also reinforce our dedication to keeping our playgrounds safe and welcoming for every child. Playgrounds are the most common location for injuries in early childhood education programs. I encourage you to focus on ensuring that our play spaces meet the highest standards of safety and inclusiveness.
You can prevent injuries on the playground by:
- Actively supervising children at all times
- Making sure children only access age and developmentally appropriate equipment
- Inspecting the playground for hazards before each use
- Ensuring outdoor play areas meet licensing and other applicable requirements
- Keeping hazards away from any children
- Having a certified playground safety inspector check for hazards once per year
- Using safe surfacing such as poured-in rubber, rubber mats, or loose surfacing (e.g., shredded rubber, mulch, or sand and pea gravel for children over age 3) that is at least 9 inches deep
This National Playground Safety Week, let’s renew our commitment to providing a safe, engaging, and inclusive outdoor environment for our children. By working together, we can ensure that our playgrounds remain a source of joy, discovery, and growth for all.
Access Safe Playground Resources
Explore these Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) resources to find out how to keep children safe on the playground.