10 Helpful Tips for Playground Maintenance
Play is very important for the development of a child’s brain. Multiple studies on childhood development have found it to be crucial for children’s brain development. Children need to partake in a number of activities that allow them to work on different gross motor skills. Some experts say that when children are denied this can suffer a lifetime of limited brain capabilities. This is one of the reasons so many schools put in school playground equipment. Some parents also install residential playgrounds and get residential playset parts to go along with them.
Putting up a great playground is only the first step. For playgrounds at schools or for those that need residential playset parts, developing a plan to keep it in good shape is an important step. Playgrounds need to be safe places for children to play and learn. That means coming up with a good plan to keep the area properly maintained is crucial to its success.
- Once your playground has been installed, it needs to be looked at on a regular basis. Here are some things that can help you conduct inspections and make repairs to your new playground:
- Do a thorough inspection before you let kids start playing on it. Walk around and make sure there are no sharp edges, look at the material under the playground rubber turf, look for problems that may have been missed while it was being built.
- Take time to get rid of debris. It takes some time and work but it is important to get rid of twigs, leaves, and any other debris that collects on a playground.
- Keep pests away. It is important to keep your playground and the area free of snakes, bees and beehives, insects, rats, and other creatures who can hurt the kids playing in the area.
- Watch the equipment to make sure fasteners and bolts do not go missing. It is really important to replace any bolts or fasteners as soon as you see any problems because these issues can really cause serious injuries.
- Keep an eye on rust. If you see any metal parts on the residential playset parts or on the school playground equipment parts start to rust, you need to act to deal with it. Metal parts can turn dangerous when it is allowed to rust.
- Deal with cracks as you see them. If you see there are cracks in the structures on your playground or on the swingsets, you should repair them or replace the equipment right away.
- Look at the surface. One area that often needs some care and feeding on a playground is the surfacing. A lot of newer playground are using more loose fill materials such and loose rubber or wood mulch. This has a tendency to migrate away from the area where it was placed. You will need to spend some time keeping the depth where you need it to be.
- Look at your playground borders. This means looking at the fencing you have around your playground space. Wood can experience rot that will mean it needs to be replaced. If you have a chain link fence around your playground, that will need to be repaired as needed as well.
- Keep everything clean. Often, cleaning instructions come from the manufacturer for most playground equipment. You can keep everything clean and mold-free by using different products and essential oils, such as tea tree oil.
Parents today are growing more and more concerned about how much time their kids spend every day looking at their smartphones and other screens. Nearly two-thirds of them worry that their kids are spending too little time on their phones and too little outside. Kids today spend less time playing outside than their parent’s generation. Previous generations spent an average of 8.2 hours each week playing outside while today’s kids only get out for about four hours each week. Getting the right residential playset parts or sending them to the local commercial playground or to use local outdoor basketball systems.
It can be hard to pry your kids away from their smartphones, laptops, and tablets but getting them outside can make a big difference in their health. Their games and social media outlets will be there when they get back in.