How safe are our playgrounds? New report card shows significant improvement, but still room for more change.

Playgrounds are one common denominator of childhood. Whether at a park, a school, or more recently, a child care center, children have spent many carefree days swinging to touch the sky or sliding down to the ground. Yet, for many children, these supposedly fun-filled days also bring memories of trips to the emergency room as a result of a playground injury. In fact, according to a 2002 Center for Disease Control report, the third leading cause of unintentional injuries for children under the age of 10 are playground injuries.

Since the 1990s there has been a concerted effort by the National Recreation and Park Association's National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI), and other professional organizations such as the International Playground Equipment Manufacturers (IPEMA), the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) and the National Contractors Association to try to alleviate this problem by insuring that the playground environment is sale. Each group has worked on a different piece of the safety puzzle. The NPPS has sought to raise awareness about the need for playground safety and injury prevention. IPEMA has endeavored to insure that the equipment pieces and surfacing materials meet both the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines for public playground safety. The National Contractors Association has attempted to ensure that equipment pieces and surfacing materials are installed correctly; and the NPSI has produced certified playground safety inspectors to ensure that the playground equipment and surfacing materials do, in fact, meet the ASTM standards and CPSC guidelines. So, have all these efforts paid off?

In spring 1998, the NPPS undertook the first comprehensive survey of the nation's public playgrounds. Traveling to all 50 states, research consultants visited more than 3,000 public childcare, school and park playgrounds. It took two years, with NPPS issuing its first national report card in 2000. The nation as a whole received a grade of C while community parks received a grade of C-.

To understand where playgrounds now stand with the community, NPPS began another survey last spring in communities visited originally five years ago. Overall, it is apparent that the efforts of professional organizations and local communities are helping to create safer playgrounds for children. The safety grades for park playgrounds increased between 25 to 75 percent in grade points in three of the four areas (age appropriate design, fall surfacing and equipment maintenance). Overall, 66 percent of the states had a report card equal to of better than the 2000 report card.

Components of SAFE Playground

NPPS has identified four areas of safety in the play environment. These four areas are: Supervision, Age appropriate design, Fall surfacing and Equipment and surfacing maintenance. The report card is based on observing how well park playgrounds meet the criteria under each of these components. The number of relatively new playgrounds versus old playgrounds has increased. In the 2000 study, 44 percent of the sites were installed prior to 1991. In this study, it was found that only 28 percent were installed prior to 1991, with 13 percent of that number installed prior to 1980. Forty-two percent have been installed since 1998. Since major playground manufacturers have adopted the CPSC's guidelines and use the ASTM standards in developing their equipment, it can be assumed that these newer playgrounds do conform to minimum safety standards. This fact is further validated by the fact that pre-1991 playgrounds had more maintenance problems than those after 1994.

Ninety-seven percent of playgrounds were buffered by a fence of distance from cars or other motorized hazards. This was an increase of 13 percent over the same finding in the 2000 study. In addition, 97 percent had a buffer between the playground equipment and other play zones for a 16 percent increase over the 2000 report.

The configuration of playgrounds is changing as more and more composite structures are replacing traditional stand-alone structures. Overall, 98 percent of the park playgrounds surveyed were primarily composite structures. This change is also reflected in the fact that there is a decrease in equipment pieces that are stand alone (i.e. geodesic domes), and an increase in pieces that are generally linked together on a composite structure (i.e. arch climbers). Table 1 on page 55 reveals the increase/decrease in equipment pieces from 2000 to 2004.

These findings may explain why injury data from CPSC indicates that children are hurt in greater numbers on public playgrounds on climbers, swings and slides. 1t is also clear why surfacing plays such an important part in the injury prevention formula since the most common pieces of equipment found involve height.

Table 2 on page 55 shows other pieces of equipment that are growing in popularity on playgrounds. Again, many of these pieces are typical on composite structures. Both the play panels and steering wheels point to the fact that more and more agencies have composite structures. Track rides and climbing walls are also gaining in popularity of newer structures.

Supervision

The presence and ability to supervise properly is a crucial element to having a safe play environment for children. More and more court cases involving playground incidents cite the lack of supervision as one element of negligence. Unfortunately, this is the one area in the overall report card that was a decrease (C from B-) from the 2000 report, as shown in Table 3 on this page. Supervision is not only about having a presence, it is the ability to actively move through the playground and see children. However, play structures need to be designed for good visibility. This is especially true with composite structures that tend to have more children together in a smaller space. It is essential that items such as tube slides and other enclosures have openings that make observation of children possible. Additionally, it is helpful to have rules posted concerning expected behavior. This is especially true in community play areas where agency supervision is not present. Parks are more likely to have rules posted governing the behavior of animals (i.e. dogs must be on a leash) than the fact that adult supervision is required for children playing on equipment.

Age Appropriate Design

Although the park playgrounds as a whole increased from a C to C+ in this section of the report, it is disturbing to note that the separation of play spaces has decreased, as shown in Table 4 on page 56. Children need to play on equipment that is designed for their development needs and abilities. You would not buy a pair of shoes for a 2-year-old and expect him to still wear them as a 12-year-old. Likewise, one should not buy equipment and expect that one size will fit the needs of children ages 2-12. Playground guidelines published by the CPSC in 1997 indicate that equipment should be manufactured and installed for ages 2-5 and 5-12. When there are not separate areas for children ages 2-5 and 5-12, the probability that young children (children under the age of five) will access equipment that is too large for their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development is significantly increased. In turn, this can increase the exposure to injury. CPSC data from 2000 indicates that children under the age of four have a higher degree of injury to the head and face, than those ages 5-12.

One possible reason for the lower score in terms of separate play areas is the increase of composite structures. Many times these structures are designed for mixed usage, which means that they have low elements (i.e. four-feet-high slides) for younger children and higher elements (i.e. eight-feet-high slides) for older children. However, because of the linkage inherent in these structures, there is nothing to prevent the younger children from accessing the higher elements. A 3-year-old is not a 10-year-old in terms of strength, reasoning ability and physical development. Without proper guidance in an integrated age designed playground, it is very easy for a child to get into equipment that is not appropriate for his/her developmental abilities. For instance, a three year old has a much higher probability of falling from an eight feet high overhead ladder than a ten year old. Depending on the surface materials underneath the equipment, the 3-year-old is being put at a greater risk for injury than the 10-year-old.

With the absence of signage (only present on 9 percent of playgrounds) to direct adults on park playgrounds, it is a common sight to find children playing on equipment that is too high of large for their developmental abilities. Although signage may not prevent parents/adults from ignoring the recommendation and putting children on equipment that is not age appropriate for them, it at least shows a good faith effort on the part of the agency in trying to educate adults about the safety issues involved with the use of playground equipment.

Falls to Surfaces

Falls to surfaces are cited by a 2000 CPSC report as a contributing factor in more than 70 percent of playground injury data. Thus, proper surfacing under and around the playground equipment is a crucial element in providing a sale play environment. (See Table 5 on page 66). Proper surfacing under and around playground equipment is determined by four factors: suitable surfacing materials, height of the equipment, depth of loose fill surface materials, and placement of suitable materials at the adequate depth in the playground use zone.

Suitable materials include loose fill products such as sand, pea gravel, wood chips and chopped rubber; and unitary materials such as poured-in-place rubber materials. Inappropriate surfaces are asphalt, concrete, dirt and grass. It is apparent that the importance of suitable surfacing materials is growing since only 15 percent of playgrounds surveyed now are reported to have unsuitable surfacing materials. While this first step is heartening to see, it is only one-quarter of the safe surfacing equation. Analysis of data also found that 90 percent of equipment is under eight feet in height. Since the CPSC guidelines indicate that most loose fill surfacing materials are appropriate for equipment under 10 feet (note: pea gravel is suitable for equipment that is under the feet in height), it is apparent that the second part of the sale surfacing equation is being met by the nation's playgrounds.

However, there is real concern about the effectiveness of the surfacing material as a cushioning agent. In order to be effective, the depth of the loose fill materials must be sufficient to absorb a fall in proportion to the height of the equipment. This is also outlined in the CPSC handbook. Less than 34 percent of playgrounds in the survey had sufficient depth of loose fill materials in relation to the height of the equipment.

Finally, any surfacing materials present need to be in the proper use zone. For stationary equipment, this means that the surfacing material should extend out six feet in all directions from the equipment. Progress is being made in this area as 82 percent of playgrounds now have proper use zones for stationary equipment. The area beneath equipment is also being better maintained as 92 percent of all playgrounds now have concrete footings covered. However, the overall maintenance of surfacing has only slightly increased as only 78 percent of all surfaces were found to be free of foreign objects such as trash, sharp objects or vegetation.

Equipment and Surfacing Maintenance

Without routine inspection and repair, any equipment will fall into disrepair and pose a hazard to children using the equipment (see Table 6 on page 56). It appears that the maintenance of metal and wooden equipment is insufficient in comparison to plastic equipment. Part of this problem lies in the fact that wood and metal equipment tend to be older.

Proportionately, metal equipment installed prior to 1991 has more rust present than the equipment installed after 1991. A similar finding was seen with wooden equipment. More plastic equipment has been installed since 1994 than before that time. It should also be noted that gaps in equipment may be the result of inappropriate installation or aging equipment where joints may have separated. But again, the older the equipment, the more gaps are present.

Head entrapments continue to be a problem on 18 percent of the park playgrounds. Spacing between and under guardrails or barriers need to be less than 3 1/2 inches or greater than .9 inches. Both gaps and head entrapments can lead to life-threatening situations involving strangulation and suffocation. Once one has designed a sale playground environment, equipment and surfacing must be maintained to ensure that the playground remains safe for children. Without routine inspection and care, even new playgrounds can contain safety hazards for children.

Table 1. Equipment Found on Park Playgrounds *

Type of           Overall Percent   Overall Percent        Change
Equipment                    2000              2004       Percent

Slides                 90 percent        96 percent    +6 percent

Swings                 95 percent        79 percent   -14 percent

Horizontal             70 percent        50 percent   -20 percent
Ladders

Sliding Poles          35 percent        42 percent    +7 percent

Chinning bars          40 percent        18 percent   -22 percent

Seesaws                55 percent        11 percent   -44 percent

Geodesic domes         20 percent         5 percent   -15 percent

Merry-go-rounds        50 percent        10 percent   -40 percent

* The percentages reflect to what degree these equipment
pieces were found. For example, 96 percent of all playgrounds
surveyed had slides, and 79 percent of all playgrounds surveyed
had swings.

Table 2. Equipment Pieces Found on at Least 10 Percent
Of Park Playgrounds

Type of Equipment   Overall Percent

Arch Climbers            55 percent

Play Panels              48 percent

Spiral Climbers          40 percent

Spring Rockers           37 percent

Steering Wheels          34 percent

Cargo Nets               22 percent

Track Rides              15 percent

Balance beam             10 percent

Climbing walls           10 percent

Table 3. Report Card on Supervision

Overall Grade      2000 = B-     2004 = C

Supervision             2000         2004
Component            percent      percent

Adults present    81 percent   83 percent
when children
Are present on
the playground

Children are      94 percent   86 percent
easily viewed
on equipment

Children can be   88 percent   69 percent
easily view in
crawl spaces

Supervision       16 percent   16 percent
rules are
posted

Supervision       2000    2004
Component         grade   grade

Adults present    B-      B-
when children
Are present on
the playground

Children are      A       B
easily viewed
on equipment

Children can be
easily view in    B+      D+
crawl spaces

Supervision       F       F
rules are
posted

Table 4. Report Card on Age Appropriate Design

Overall Grade           2000 = C    2004 = C+

Age Appropriate             2000         2004   2000    2004
Design Component         percent      percent   grade   grade

Separate play         35 percent   29 percent   F       F
areas present

Signage for age        6 percent    9 percent   F       F
group provided

Platforms provide     91 percent   95 percent   A-      A
for change of
directions

Guardrails are        90 percent   93 percent   A-      A
present on elevated
platforms higher
than 3 feet.

Equipment pieces     69 percent    84 percent   D+       B
are designed to
prevent children
from climbing
outside of
structures

Equipment pieces     78 percent    85 percent   C+       B
are designed to
discourage
children from
climbing on
supporting
structures.

Table 5. Report Card on Fall Surfacing

Overall Grade          2000 = C    2004 = B-

Fall Surfacing             2000         2004   2000     2004
Component               percent      percent   grade    grade

Suitable materials   82 percent   85 percent   B-       B
provided

Height of equipment          NA   90 percent   NA       A-
8 feet

Appropriate depth    49 percent   33 percent   F        F
of loose fill

Six Feet Use Zone    67 percent   82 percent   D+       B-
has appropriate
surfacing material

Concrete footings    86 percent   92 percent   B        A-
are covered

Surface is free of   77 percent   78 percent   C+       C+
foreign objects

Table 6. Report Card on Equipment Maintenance

Overall Grade           2000 = C+    2004 = B-

Equipment Maintenance        2000         2004   2000    2004
Components                percent      percent   grade   grade

Equipment is free of   81 percent   81 percent   B-      B-
broken parts

Equipment is free of   77 percent   87 percent   C+      B+
missing parts

Equipment is free of   78 percent   86 percent   C+      B
protruding bolts

Equipment is free of   74 percent   71 percent   C       C-
noticeable gaps

Equipment is free of   76 percent   82 percent   C       B-
head entrapments

Equipment is free of   73 percent   75 percent   C-      C
rust

Equipment is free of   72 percent   65 percent   C-      D
splinters

Equipment is free of   92 percent   94 percent   A-      A
cracks/holes

Ensuring a SAFE Playground

Supervision

* Have manufacturers pay attention to the sight lines in the development of playground equipment and composite structures.

* Park agencies should provide signage indicating the importance of supervision and other behaviors that they want to encourage on the playground.

Age Appropriate Design

* All new playground areas designed for ages 2-12 should have two distinct areas: one for ages 2-5 and the other for ages 5-12. Composite structures that provide for mixed-aged use (ages 2-12) should no be purchased.

* All playgrounds should have signage or labels informing and directing adults about the age appropriateness of equipment.

Fall Surfacing

* Park and recreation agencies need to provide suitable surfacing materials under and around all playground equipment.

* Agencies need to increase efforts to maintain loose fill surfacing materials at the appropriate depth.

Equipment Maintenance

* Serious consideration should be given to replacing all equipment installed prior to 1991.

* All newly installed equipment should be inspected as to its conformance to CPSC guidelines prior to allowing children to play on it.

* Park and recreation agencies should follow a schedule for routine maintenance, repair, and replacement of equipment.

For more information about safe playgrounds, contact NRPA's Playground Safety Program Manager via e-mail, [e-mail], or via phone, [phone].