Building a More Accessible Playground
Author: Austin Stanfel
Playgrounds have a range of benefits for developing children. They allow them to develop their physical strength. It also lets them improve their social skills, as they learn how to communicate with other children. However, some playgrounds have a problem incorporating disabled people. This can make them feel excluded. This makes it harder for them to form relationships with other children. Thankfully, this doesn’t need to be the case. Let’s look at some of the ways that you can build; make sure that your playground is accessible to children of all ability levels.
First, you should consult with disabled people from the beginning of the planning process. This will make it easier to design a playground that everyone can enjoy. For example, you will need to incorporate more extensive walkways, to make it easy for children in wheelchairs to get onto the playground. You should also try to include obstacles that will be accessible to everyone. For example, you might want to add overhead bars. This can be an excellent way for people in wheelchairs to test their strength. Besides, you can include musical instruments in the playground. This can be an excellent way for children to improve their creativity, as they create unique songs. When putting in the apparatus, make sure that you use a variety of sizes. This will encourage children of all sizes to make music together. Another popular type of area is a treehouse. You can put this at the top of a hill, which disabled people can roll-up. This area often forms an excellent place for children to meet together. When designing the playground, make sure to incorporate plenty of bright colors. This will make the area look appealing and exciting.
One of the best ways to increase diversity is by building playgrounds that children from all abilities can access. Though this sounds like a complicated process, this isn’t the case. As we discussed, the best way of doing this is by incorporating ideas from disabled people when designing the playground. Even once the playground has been built, you should seek feedback. For example, the overhead bars might be too high, preventing people in wheelchairs from reaching them. You can then lower these bars to make them more accessible. So, build a playground that can be enjoyed by children of all abilities and experience the way it benefits all children.