Make Every Recess A Safe Play Date

Image by KingRobertII It’s a simple fact of childhood that a kid is going to have a couple of scrapes and bruises occur while growing up. Hopefully you'll be able to avoid more serious injuries but in the rough-and-tumble nature of the playground it's hard to avoid those minor "boo-boos." As a parent or supervisor, you have a responsibility to maintain a safe and happy playground experience for your children and any other children who are enjoying recess. These are some helpful tips to keep in mind if you are given the responsibility of playground supervisor. Before any recess session starts, all playgrounds for preschools should be inspected for any potentially hazardous materials left behind overnight or as the result of a recent storm. Even the most durable of plastic commercial playground equipment should be inspected every day to make sure there is no damage. Once you have deemed the area safe, you need to shift your attention to the kids. Several states have a mandate for a child-to-staff ratio when it comes to recess time. While it might seem as though you have plenty of teachers, parents or teacher’s assistants supervising playtime, you would be well served to find out what the exact number should be to make sure you are in compliance. The staff members who are assigned recess duty need to constantly be on alert. They should spread out among the children so that everyone can be in sight. While there might be a natural inclination to engage in a conversation with a fellow adult, that's not really serving the kids. It helps to keep roving throughout the playground area as opposed to being stuck in one spot.

In An Emergency Situation

A playground emergency plan should also be formulated. This plan will be activated if there is a serious injury or incident. While calling 911 is the de facto first step, you need to make sure that there is cell phone reception in the playground and that the supervisors have their phones at the ready. There also needs to be coordination between the playground personnel and school administration in the event of an emergency. Is there a way to communicate with the principal's office without leaving the children unsupervised? It would also be highly recommended that any playground supervisor have CPR certification. Most importantly, you want to try and diffuse any potential bullying situation that might arise. It's a thin line between "kids being kids" and a genuine bully incident. Beyond separating a pair of children who might be going at each other, you need to get at a root cause of a fight in order to avoid a repeat in the future. Bullying is one of the most serious issues facing schools these days, and a lot of that starts on the playground. Staying fully aware and alert can help keep those kinds of harmful situations from growing out of proportion.Call (877) 777-3700 and let ParknPool help you choose the perfect ParknPool playground sets and ParknPool school playgrounds for you!