Public Playground Safety Checklist
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Public Playground Safety Checklist
CPSC Document #327
Is your public playground a safe place to play?
Each year, more than 200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency
rooms with injuries associated with playground equipment. Most
injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground.
Use this simple checklist to help make sure your local community or
school playground is a safe place to play.
Public Playground Safety Checklist
- Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12
inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats
made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
- Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all
directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing
extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending
bar.
- Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at
least 9 feet apart.
- Check for dangerous hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding
bolt ends.
- Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in
guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches
or more than 9 inches.
- Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
- Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree
stumps, and rocks.
- Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have
guardrails to prevent falls.
- Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing
are in good condition.
- Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they're
safe.
You can also view our other playground safety publications.
Brought to you by the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization committed to building safe playgrounds for America's children through the KaBOOM! LET US PLAY campaign. For more information, call toll-free 1-888-789-PLAY or visit the KaBOOM! web site at www.kaboom.org.