Part 5 of our safety series - General Playground Safety:

In this final part of our five part series on playground safety we focus on General Playground Safety.

Trip Hazards:

Bicycles and helmets, lunch boxes, drink bottles and rubbish can all be quickly abandoned in dangerous places in the excitement of arriving at the playground. Make sure that there is lots of clear space around equipment for children to run from one activity to another and leave enough space for children to land in when jumping down from equipment.

Environmental factors:

• Avoid using playground equipment that's wet because it may be slippery

• Check playground equipment for overheating. Contact burns can happen within seconds.

• Wear sunscreen when playing outside even on cloudy days to protect against sunburn.

General playground safety tips

Teach children to:

• Wear clothing which cannot get caught on the equipment and accidentally strangle a child e.g. drawstrings, necklaces etc.

• Avoid pushing or roughhousing on playground equipment

• Use equipment properly (see previous newsletters for equipment specific tips)

• Check for other children before jumping off equipment

• Land on both feet with knees slightly bent.

Find out more about playground safety