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Sensible Safe Play

Sensible Safe Play. A Practical and Educational Interpretation of the North Carolina Child Care Commission’s Permanent Playground Rules. Training Requirements. For centers serving less than 30 children, one staff member must complete Playground Safety training within 6 months of hire

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Sensible Safe Play

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  1. Sensible Safe Play A Practical and Educational Interpretation of the North Carolina Child Care Commission’s Permanent Playground Rules

  2. Training Requirements • For centers serving less than 30 children, one staff member must complete Playground Safety training within 6 months of hire • For centers serving 30 or more children, the Center Director and one other staff member must complete Playground Safety training within 6 months of hire

  3. Setting the Scene

  4. The Difference Between Risk and Hazard • a RISK contains • a decision or judgment • a HAZARD cannot be seen by a child • and therefore cannot be judged

  5. Why All the Fuss?

  6. Why All the Fuss? There are three reasons why a child care provider should provide a safe playground environment: 1 - It is morally the right thing to do 2 - It is backed by child care requirements 3 - Negligence could result in liability claims

  7. Why All the Fuss? It is your obligation as child care providers to supply a physically and emotionally safe environment for the children in your care On the playground, a safe environment is one where the hazards are removed or addressed

  8. National Trends • 1988 CPSC Data • More than 150,000 playground related injuries per year • A playground related injury = an emergency room visit • 1994 CPSC Data • More than 200,000 playground related injuries • Estimate of 17 playground related deaths per year • 1999 CPSC Data • More than 205,000 playground related injuries • Fractures were the most commonly reported injury

  9. North Carolina Injuries • 2002 Calendar Year • 1,388 injuries occurred at child care centers that required medical attention • Of these injuries, 37.5 percent or 521 injuries occurred on the playground

  10. Number of Injuries by Age Group

  11. Cause of Injuries

  12. Equipment Associated with Fall From Height Injuries

  13. Playground Hazards Provide “Hazard Free” Environments Sharp Points, Corners, Edges Protrusions Pinch, Crush, Shearing Points

  14. General • Sharp points • Play equipment should not be able to puncture a child’s skin • Open, exposed ends of tubes or pipes should be covered or plugged • Wooden parts should be sanded smooth and not produce splinters • Corners • Metal or wood corners should be rounded • Edges • Metal edges should have rounded capping or be rolled

  15. General • Paint • Metal surfaces should be painted or galvanized to prohibit rust • To prevent lead poisoning, paints or finishes used on playground equipment must meet the Federal Law - Title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1303 • No more than 600 parts/million maximum lead by dry weight • If you are concerned about potential lead-based paint hazard with your play equipment, contact your consultant for guidance on lead hazard assessment and control

  16. Wooden Playground Equipment • chromated copper arsenate - CCA

  17. Consumer Products Safety Commission • Risk to young children via hand contact • Put hands in mouth • Touch other objects that will go into their mouths

  18. To Minimize Risk • Care givers should thoroughly wash children’s hands with soap and water after playing • Children should not eat while on the playground equipment • Sealants or stains must be applied at least every 2 years • Soil under CCA wood must be removed, covered or made inaccessible to children

  19. Alternatives to CCA Alkaline Copper Quat Copper Azole CCA

  20. Protrusions • Playground equipment components should not be able to entangle children’s clothing

  21. Gauges

  22. Testing for Protrusions 3 2 1 • Use the smallest of the three gauges first • Move from smallest gauge to largest • If any part of the protrusion extends beyond the face of the gauge, IT IS A HAZARD! 2 1 3 =

  23. Special Protrusion Concerns • Diameter should not increase in direction towards exposed end = = Causes a “hook-like” effect

  24. Play pieces or components that…. Move against one another Move relative to a stationary component should not allow children access! Equipment that might have pinch, crush, and shear points: Steering Wheels Tire Swing Chains Tricycle Go-Rounds Pinch, Crush, &Shearing Points • Merry-go-rounds • Seesaws • Spring Rockers • Sand Diggers • Clatter Bridges

  25. Playground Hazards Entrapment and Entanglement Surfacing Specific Equipment Issues

  26. Entrapment • Any opening on play equipment or structure where a child could get stuck: • Stairs • Decks • Ladders • Rope climbers • Barriers • To prevent entrapment, openings should be smaller than 3.5” or greater than 9.0”

  27. 9.0” Reason • A child’s torso is smaller than a child’s head Cross Section of a five year old child’s head (95th Percentile) from the tip of the chin to the back of the head is 9.0” Cross Section of a two-year old child’s (5th percentile) torso is 3.5” by 6.2” Back 3.5” 6.2” Belly Button

  28. What Can Happen?

  29. Hazard • Any opening between 3.5” and 9.0” may entrap a child’s head whether • the child enters head first in one orientation and attempts to withdraw the head in a different orientation; • the child enters an opening feet first where the opening is large enough to allow the body to pass through, but not the head • Entrapment can occur even if the child’s feet are touching the ground

  30. Templates/Probes

  31. Testing for Entrapment Hazard • Using templates/probes • Any opening that allows the small torso template/probe to pass through, but does NOT allow the large head template/probe to pass through • FAILS = HAZARD • Any opening that does NOT allow the small torso template/probe to pass through OR allows BOTH the small torso template/probe and the large head template/probe to pass through • PASSES = NO HAZARD

  32. Conditions • Exception • Where the ground acts as the lowest border of the opening • Special Condition • Openings formed by flexible or moving climbing components

  33. Exception • Where the ground acts as the lowest border of the opening NO HAZARD

  34. What About Synthetic Surfaces?

  35. Special Condition • Openings formed by non-rigid climbing components • A force no greater than 50 lbs. may be applied when testing both the small torso template/probe and large head template/probe • If one template passes and the other does not • FAILS = HAZARD

  36. Entrapment Activity

  37. Entrapment Activity

  38. Entrapment Example

  39. Entrapment Activity

  40. Entanglement • Children’s clothing can become entangled in play equipment • Areas that can entangle clothing include • Protrusions and projections • Upright “V” angles of less than 55

  41. Upright “V” Angle Hazard x • Defined - any “V” shaped corner less than 55  formed by adjacent components of play equipment • Exception I - if one leg of the “V” is horizontal or sloping downwards Horizontal X 55  Horizontal

  42. Entanglement Activity

  43. Surfacing for Stationary Play Equipment • Nationally nearly 70% of playground related injuries are from falls • Fall injuries are a result of two things • the height a child falls from • the material/surface the child falls upon • Provide “soft,” resilient, surfaces under and around stationary playground equipment that is more than 18” high

  44. Surfacing Activity

  45. “Soft,” Resilient Surfaces • Wood mulch • Double shredded bark mulch • Engineered wood fiber • Sand, both fine and coarse • Pea gravel (!!ONLY in play areas for children 3 years or older!!) • Manufactured/synthetic surfaces that meet the ASTM 1292 standard

  46. Surfaces – Pros and Cons

  47. Critical Height and Depth of Surface • Critical height - the maximum height a child may climb, sit or stand on the play equipment • The depth of surface should be based upon the critical height of the equipment • The higher the equipment, the deeper the surface!!

  48. Depths of Acceptable Surfaces (In Inches of Surfacing) (*ONLY in play areas for children 3 years or older!!)

  49. Under and Around • For equipment used by children 2 and older, surfacing (at the appropriate depth) should be placed around stationary play equipment for a distance of 6 feet • For equipment used by children <2 years, surfacing only needs to extend for a distance of 3 feet. • This area around stationary play equipment is called the “fall zone” • Stationary equipment anchors located in the fall zone must be covered with surfacing material and not exposed

  50. Movable Equipment?

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