The benefits of going to playgrounds and playing outside are undisputed. Exercise is an amazing way to increase creativity and learning capability in our children. All the soft playground materials and playground safety will do no good unless we are able to keep our kids active during the winter. 

Playground Safety Tips for the winter

If your young ones want to play on a playground during this time of the year, they can as long as you engage in some playground safety. For example, while dressing them warmly, skip the scarf. That can get tangled within playground equipment. Inspect the equipment for ice and snow and how those might have affected it. Avoid a playground entirely if slippery conditions exist.

“We have to be reasonable, kids aren’t going to want to spend hours outside this winter since that safe playground surfacing is now frozen. But, if do it right they can have safe fun at a playground despite the cold weather.”

Exercise Indoors 

It can be great to be active in your own home. You can have a dance competition. If you have a treadmill or workout equipment at home, you can have your children use those if they’re old enough to. Engaging in yoga is another activity that can be done in your own home. However, it’s helpful to avoid cabin fever and regularly get out and about and head elsewhere. Some away-from-home indoor options that are especially popular this time of year include skating rinks, basketball courts, bowling alleys and swimming pools.

Give Your Animals Some Exercise Too

If your children are old enough, have them regularly take your dog on a walk. Make sure to supervise if they’re not old enough to go on their own, but, if they’re able, allow them to handle the responsibilities with your oversight. This will provide both the canines and the children who you care for to get some well-needed exercise. Let your pet run around and enjoy being outside. That soft playground surfacing can be fun for them even if it is below freezing. 

Gaming

Yes, you read that right. Gaming can provide a significant amount of physical activity for children. Although most games are focused on exercising the mind, a few have physical activity at the forefront of what they offer. Options include PlayStation Move, Xbox One Kinect and Nintendo Wii. It should be noted that children who participate in these games tend to start to exercise in other ways too.

However, with that said, do make sure to limit non-exercise-related screen time. It’s fine to allow children to enjoy screen time since much of it does help strengthen the brain, but it should be limited.

At Sof’Fall we talk a lot about playground safety and soft playground surfacing. We sometimes forget that a lot of people don’t even have a playground nearby.

There are even playgrounds for teens and adults, with all the same perks. They can become booming social hubs, an attractive feature of the neighborhood. With all of these benefits, remember that the best thing about the playground isn’t the soft playground surfacing or the big fancy slide. It is that kids have somewhere they can be outside and play.

Health Benefits

There are a lot of benefits to kids playing outside. High calorie intakes and sedentary lifestyles mean widespread obesity among people of all ages. We need more physical activity. We need to go outside, and soak up the sun, and get our bodies moving.

A playground gives people a free outdoor destination – the perfect place to get moving and engage in heart-healthy fun.

Playground Safety

Playgrounds are wonderful, no doubt about it. But you also can’t help but wonder: is the playground in my community safe?

No playground is 100% injury-proof. Kids still trip and fall. But, there are things you can look for when you bring your kids to a new playground.

Safe Playground Surfacing

What is the playground floor made of? Is it concrete? Gravel? Wood chips? Rubber?

Safe playground surfacing is the most important part of playground safety, due in large part to the aforementioned tripping and falling. If the playground is simply atop a concrete slab, it’ll be much less safe than a playground with wood chips or recycled rubber floors.

The floor is the foundation of the playground. While kids can choose between swings, climbing, jumping, and crawling activities, all of them inevitably interact with the ground without even thinking about it. Therefore, good surfacing is the backbone of playground safety.

Playground Maintenance

Proper maintenance is another safety priority. Playground equipment has to be able to withstand daily use. A well-maintained playground can prevent accidents and harm.

Additionally, active playground care will discourage vandals and other unsavory juvenile behavior.

At then end of the day it is obvious that community playgrounds have a lot of advantages. They:

• Encourage kids to socialize and be imaginative.
• Provide an outlet for physical activity,
• Which, in turn, fights obesity and promotes healthy living.
• Become popular neighborhood fixtures for people of all ages.
• Increase property values and community wellness

Sof’Fall Engineered wood surface is one of the top rated playground flooring materials. Having Sof’Fall wood chips can transform a dangerous playground into a place your child can play and imagine in safety. One of the biggest steps to helping kids get outside more is helping parents know that the spaces their kids are playing in will catch them when they fall.

GETTING KIDS TO PLAY OUTSIDE

This conversation is no longer happening in the volumes that it needs to, and this is causing children to avoid playing outside. It is suggested that parents immediately change the way they are permitting their children to spend their time if they would like to make sure they have the best chance at health in the future. One of the ways that many parents restrict their child’s development is by keeping them strapped down for too long. Many parents allow their babies to sit in a car seat, bed, or other stationary bed for too long. It is recommended that your baby should be having at least thirty minutes of “tummy time” if they cannot yet crawl.

WHAT ABOUT FOR OLDER CHILDREN?

For older children, you may find they enjoy time on a playground. However, not every parent has the opportunity to take their child to Salt Lake City playgrounds every day. This means that you may want to invest in playgrounds for your children. This way, they could have a hand in deciding which design of the playgrounds they may enjoy. Make sure, though, that you purchase one with enough activities to keep your children interested for a longer period. After your child picks one out, you also need to consider the location of the play place. Even if you may have an area that is covered in grass, if you have a younger child, covering the ground in mulch may ease some of your worries if they were to jump down. 

“Children need to learn to climb, be active, and how to steady themselves, but many parents are too worried about them hurting themselves. Having a soft playground material to play on can help ease the parents fear and the child’s fall.“

Finding ways to get outside

While the world is getting more online, and more threatening, parents are hurting their children by shutting them away. When they are allowed to explore their interests unburdened, however, they prosper. Making sure that your children are safe should be your priority, so while they need to be climbing and breathing fresh air, make sure they are safer by providing a comfortable place to land.

Sof’Fall is committed to helping children have safe places to play. Soft playground surfacing is the first step to that goal.

It’s no secret that running and jumping is great for your child’s physical health; playing outdoors can also help your kids develop social skills. Rougher play among children may seem dangerous, but studies find that there are benefits to letting your kids get down and dirty; a few scrapes may help children become tougher and improve their improvisation and perseverance skills.

Developing Creativity in Children

The author of this study, Mariana Brussoni, says that it’s important to support children’s outdoor play because it can drastically improve their mental and physical well-being. The study elaborates on which playground features garner the best results; natural features like trees and flowers aid in boosting creativity and curiosity in children. When choosing a playground, changes in elevation and things for children to climb on are useful.

The researchers found that children who were over-supervised during playtime didn’t take as many risks.Concerns over playground safety standards often prevent caretakers and parents from letting children explore as freely as they’d like. Soft playground surfacing can make playgrounds safer and allow children to take more creativity-boosting risks. 

Mariana Brussoni recommends a solution to over-supervision. She urges guardians to establish rules with their children, especially older ones, rather than actively supervising their playtime. Building safer playgrounds that balance safety and positive risk-taking will ensure that children reap the health benefits of outdoor free play.

Outdoor play is essential to children’s mental and emotional development. Outdoor play that involves risk-taking and rougher play can build resilience and peak children’s curiosity, and providing safe playgrounds with the necessary safety features allows children to grow without sustaining serious injuries.

Safety is always going to be the top priority for parents and guardians, but creative development should be the second. Providing children with safe outdoor venues to explore is critical for creating a generation of intelligent leaders who can create, innovate, and overcome obstacles. Proper playground surfacing creates the perfect balance between safety and risk.