Playground Upgrade Decisions

Playground Guide Part 3

Age Appropriate

Equipment designed for children ages 5·12 years may not be appropriate for children 18 months to 5 years of age or 2 – 5 years of age. Children have varying abilities. Modern playground design factors those abilities and anthropometric measurements when developing playgrounds appropriate to user age groups. Playgrounds from the pre·1990s paid much less attention to this issue.

Current Maintenance

Rusty hardware, worn “S” hooks, connectors, frayed cables, broken parts, graffiti, and vandalism are signs that a playground has not been maintained and could pose a serious injury potential. Protective surfacing with grass growing everywhere, large pockets of displaced surfacing under swings, spinners, and slide exits, compacted surfacing with little or no resiliency are also signs that the playground safety surfacing has not been maintained properly and could also pose a serious injury potential.

Is it Still Fun?

Do children still use it? Does it have enough variety for all the age groups? Are opportunities for social group play, active physical play, quiet retreat play, imaginary play, and other play related activities still provided by the current playground and play space? Does it incorporate accessibility features with opportunities for children of all abilities to play together? Is it big enough?

Does the Playspace Still Serve Community needs?

Are there features for caregivers? Has the size of the facility kept up with community growth? Has the demographic in my community changed? Are there more young families with small children? Is it attractive and people friendly? Is there enough shade? Is there access to public transport or parking?

Make a Final Decision.

Make a yes or no decision based on the above analysis. Maybe all stakeholders are happy with the current playspace, or maybe there are good reasons to proceed with improvements.

Henderson Playgrounds specializes in traditional freestanding play equipment, climbers, play vehicles, motion toys, spring riders, heavy-duty swing sets, arch and three-leg swings, T-swings, and nature-inspired tree swings and much more…