Choosing the Right Playground
While nearly any playground that provides activities is beneficial, parents need to make sure they are choosing a playground that is appropriate for specific ages. The playground also needs to have a range of physical activity potential available to make sure that children remain engaged, and gain the most benefit from their playtime. The first step in choosing the right playground is to make sure that it is designed for your child’s age.
Six Months to 23 Months
Younger children need specially designed playground equipment that provides them with plenty of space to crawl, walk, and stand. Many of these types of playgrounds are indoors, and provide a safe environment for the little ones to get the exercise they need.
Two to Five Years
Children in this age range need playgrounds that provide low platforms and small steps to allow them to play without constant adult assistance. These playgrounds will have plenty of handholds and bars that children can grab to pull themselves up. These playgrounds often have tables for playing in water or sand, as well as equipment that is mounted on low springs. Shorter slides, such as those around four feet or less are also great play choices for younger children. These playgrounds should also have soft rubber or foam type surfaces under the equipment to make sure that children who might fall are not injured.
When choosing a playground for children in this age range, you need to make sure that your children will not have access to walks that are designed with cables or chains, free standing climbing equipment, track or sliding rides, vertical slider poles, or long slides in the shape of a spiral. These types of equipment present fall hazards for younger children, and can be dangerous if the children are left unattended.
Five to Twelve Years
School age children require more challenging play areas, but they should still be designed to meet their height and skill requirements – especially for children on the lower end of this range. These playgrounds will often have climbing equipment, monkey bars, sliding equipment, larger swings, chain and rope style climbing equipment and many will also have areas designed for playing basketball or other sports.
Playgrounds for Children with Disabilities
Children with disabilities require the same interaction and exercise as other children. If your child has a disability, he or she can still benefit from time spent at the playground to see the health and developmental benefits seen with other children. More cities and communities are adding parks that are designed to be all-inclusive, which means that the overall design and types of equipment are geared towards making sure that children with disabilities can play alongside other children.
There are also specially designed equipment types available that allow children in wheelchairs to use them, such as family swings that provide a safe way for the entire family to swing with the child. Other playgrounds incorporate textures and other features that are designed to engage children that suffer from sensory impairments. If there are no such playgrounds available in your area, you should consider taking your concerns to the local city council, or speaking with leaders within the community to see about developing a playground that provides for children with a variety of needs and skill levels.
Special Considerations
No matter which type of playground that you choose, it is important to remember that every child has different needs and different rates of development. In order to make sure that your children stay engaged and interested in playing at the playground, you will need to keep track of their skill and growth in play. If you notice that your child seems to find the available equipment too easy, or it does not present any kind of challenge that adds to the physical activity, you may need to move on to a playground for the next age level. Just make sure to keep a close eye on the children while playing to make sure they do not get in any trouble or potential danger.
Some children may initially whine or fight against leaving behind their newest game or device, but once they arrive at the playground, few children can resist the laughter and obvious fun that other children are engaging in. If your child does resist playing even after arriving at the park, whether due to shyness or some other reason, take things slow and do not give in. Once the child sees that they will either be sitting doing nothing, or having fun playing, he or she will eventually decide to play. If not, take the time to calmly speak to your child about why he or she does not want to play, and address the issue. This may mean having to help your child through self-consciousness, especially if he or she is already overweight. If this is the case, you may need to take things slow, and try to visit a park that is less crowded, or make sure to include your child’s favorite friends in the trip so that everyone has someone to play with.
Playgrounds are Vital to Children’s Health and Physical Fitness
As you can see, playgrounds are a vital part of improving our children’s physical fitness and health. The drastic increase in the number of children suffering from weight and obesity issues is not something that should be ignored, or taken lightly. As parents and caregivers, it is our duty to ensure that we are helping our kids develop the habits and skills they need for a long, healthy life. The most important change that we can make in our children’s lives is to make sure they are getting the physical exercise they need to remain healthy and active throughout their childhood, and into adulthood.
Playgrounds provide a fun way of doing all of this, simply by allowing children to play in ways that give them plenty of movement and exercise. While schedules seem to become tighter every day, the time has come to put down those gadgets, and get our children moving. Parents should plan on giving children at least 30 to 45 minutes per day at the playground to get the most health benefits. If your child has been sedentary, and already has a weight problem, it is never too late to start getting the problem under control – just start planning those trips to the park.