Playground Standards & Guidelines Expert Overview

In this article, expert witnesses specializing in child safety though playground inspections and child supervision discuss the standards and guidelines relevant to playground injuries associated with monkey bars. The discussion includes background information on injury statistics, and child behavior that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other organizations consider during the development of standards/guidelines for safe playgrounds.

The experts at Robson Forensic are frequently retained to investigate injuries and assaults that occur on public and private playgrounds. The experts involved in these cases bring specific expertise in child safety through playground inspections and child supervision.

Playground Equipment Standards & Guidelines

Each year, thousands of children are hospitalized in the United States for playground-related injuries, with the majority of these injuries affecting children under the age of 12; falls from playground equipment are the leading cause of these injuries.

ASTM International establishes nationally recognized safety standards for public playground equipment. Many of these standards are also reflected in the CPSC’s national guidelines and published in the Public Playground Safety Handbook.

The standards and guidelines are developed to reduce the injury risk for children as they play and to address characteristics of specific types of equipment to promote safety.

This article focuses on upper body equipment, which is designed to present a greater degree of physical challenge than other pieces of play equipment. There are many types of upper body equipment found on playgrounds, but most common are rigid horizontal overhead ladders, sometimes referred to colloquially as “monkey bars.”

Aside from the fun it offers its users, upper body equipment provides an opportunity for a child to challenge themself in a manner that can improve muscle strength and coordination, provide a sense of accomplishment, and interact with peers. However, because of the nature of the equipment’s design and the potential danger associated with elevated falls, a child’s abilities need to be aligned with the challenges the equipment offers.

Horizontal Overhead Ladder (Rigid)

This equipment is designed to strengthen the upper body by allowing children to move across the ladder from one end to the other using only their hands. It is typically seen in the playground designed for school aged children (5 to 12 years of age inclusively), but can be found in preschool settings specifically designed for the size and ability of this age group. This equipment is not recommended for use by children under 4 years of age.

Safety standards and guidelines address the placement of the hand hold or gripping device on rigid overhead upper body equipment. Standards require that appropriate spacing between the rigid overhead horizontal rungs should be greater than 9 inches to prevent head entrapment.

For school aged children the rungs should be no greater than 15 inches apart when measured center to center for traversing. For preschool aged children (aged four and older), rungs should be evenly spaced and no greater than 12 inches apart.

Horizontal Overhead Rings (Dynamic)

This type of equipment is similar to the rigid horizontal overhead ladder in terms of challenge to the child. They differ, however, in that this piece of equipment is more dynamic in nature and swings with the child as they attempts to cross from one ring to the next. The movement of the rings creates an arc that varies the distance as the child progresses down the equipment.

Manufacturers must design, and facility owners/operators must select, equipment that is appropriate for the targeted age of the child who will play on it and the environment in which it will be used. The alignment of equipment type with child development and abilities is critical to injury reduction.

For example, while unique gripping device orientations may create an appropriate challenge for older school aged children, those same features may create an unreasonably dangerous condition when used in a playground for younger children.

The nature and severity of injuries, which include but are not limited to fractures, brain injury, and even death, are influenced by factors such as equipment height, the impact attenuation and maintenance of the surfacing material under and around the equipment, and supervision.

Playground Surfacing

Upper body equipment poses a greater risk for a fall from height as compared to other types of playground equipment. The greater the distance over which a child falls, the more energy and force they have when they hit the ground surface.

For this reason, it is imperative that the surfacing material be adequate to absorb and thus dissipate the impact energy of the child, lessening the forces felt by the child when they hit. The utilization of adequate protective surfacing with proper maintenance over the life of the equipment and playground proves to lessen the severity of and even prevent injuries.

Therefore it is critical to the owner and operator of the play equipment to be cognizant of the surfacing material under and around the upper body equipment and maintain the surfacing material in a manner that complies with standards and guidelines.

Playground Supervision

While not a substitute for safe equipment in a safe playground environment, supervised play may reduce the likelihood of injuries to children on a playground.

Supervision in a play environment takes many forms and is affected by varying circumstances including the structure and design of the playground, the type of equipment available to the children, the age of the children on the playground at any given time, and the activities being conducted in the play environment.

Every teacher or parent can note, by experience, that children of the same age may look and behave completely dissimilar due to developmental abilities and differences. These differences may be observed through gender, size, ability to problem solve, body coordination and strength, interest in risk taking, and interaction with peers.

This variation in development can clearly affect the manner in which a child interacts with their play environment. As a result, adult supervision on the playground is recommended to promote safety and reduce injury.

Playgrounds are designed to meet the developmental abilities of the targeted user of the equipment. Equipment should incorporate a low risk of injury with a high degree of challenge. It is essential for a supervisor to know the targeted age user of the equipment and be able to identify its appropriateness for the children being supervised.

This is particularly important when focusing on upper body equipment as the height of the equipment and the manner in which a child accesses, exits, and uses the equipment varies with age, ability, and the anthropometrics of the child.

Supervision will vary based upon the activity on the playground. Whether an activity is facilitated by the supervisor or teacher, or an activity that involves free play, will affect the method of supervision. An example of facilitative play is when a teacher leads an activity for a specific group of children only.

Supervision during an unstructured activity allows children the choice of activity and equipment usage. This free play type of activity widens the parameters and surface area of play and requires active supervisory skills that include, among other methods, circulation, attention, communication, and visual scanning.

Supervision of children using overhead upper body equipment during free play activity, like school recess, can be particularly challenging. Educating children and supervisors on the safe usage of this equipment can not only prevent child injury but can train supervisors to identify the physical skills necessary to use upper body equipment.

Playground Injury Expert Investigations

While playground safety standards and guidelines are developed to prevent head and other debilitating injuries, they cannot prevent all injuries to children on playgrounds. Robson Forensic Experts can help to analyze available information to determine the linkage between the mechanism of injury and how it relates to playground equipment, design, safety guidelines and supervision.

For more information, submit an inquiry or call us at 800.813.6736.

Sources

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2015). Public playground safety handbook (Publication 325). CPSC.gov
2. Thompson, D., Hudson, S., & Olsen, H., (2007). S.A.F.E. Play Areas. Creation, maintenance and renovation, Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.

Featured Expert

Elizabeth S. Rodano, Ed.D., C.P.S.I.

Child Care Supervision & Facility Safety Expert

Dr. Elizabeth Rodano is an expert in the management and operations of programs and facilities that provide education, supervision, and care to children from early childhood through middle school ages. She applies her expertise to forensic casework involving physical injuries, claims of abuse or neglect, and issues involving licensing and professional liability.