Playground Safety for Children With Special Needs
Author: Austin Stanfel
In case you are a caregiver or a parent, you would want your children to be happy and safe whenever you are with him/her at the playground. The safety and protection of a child is a significant part of a parent’s job.
At the same time, we know that there are countless benefits of taking your children to the playground. This is especially beneficial for children with special needs, as playgrounds give them an excellent opportunity to interact with other children. However, some specific accommodations often have to be made for the safety of children with special needs.
To help you keep the outdoor environment of your child fee and entertaining, we have compiled several tips that you can use. These include the following:
Make sure that the equipment is accessible and safe
Most of the local playgrounds do not have separate places that are designated for children with different needs and of different ages. Even though trends are slowly changing, it will take a while for playgrounds to evolve. In this regard, what you can do is to make sure that the playground equipment that your child is using is fully accessible and safe.
How to remedy this?First of all, remove any obstacles that might be present in the way. Then, make sure that the area is properly fenced so that individual children who are eager to explore can do so without external threats. This is because often at the time, special children run around and walk off on their own to study.
Use age-appropriate playground equipment
Another essential tip is not to let your children use a material that is not of their age. This could lead to injuries that can sometimes be fatal. Furthermore, it could also damage the playground equipment and could be a threat to other children in the park.
It is better to take your child to a playground that has separate areas for children of different age groups. This not only allows children of the same age group to interact with each other but also ensures the safety of everyone.
Indeed, it is better to practice some safety rather than letting your child use equipment that he/she is not ready for yet.
Supervise them properly
It is not uncommon for parents to have their attention diverted away, especially when there are other parents around. In this case, children may end up hurting themselves. When left unsupervised, children often tend to do the things that they are otherwise not allowed to do.
This is because it provides them the golden opportunity to try it out. So make sure that you are looking at your children at all times while they are playing. Furthermore, special children may also need assistance in playing.
So do encourage your child to seek your help, as it will further increase their level of safety on the playground.
Once you know that the environment is safe enough for your child, you shall relax and sit back. However, make sure that they have your eye on them all the time.