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Outdoor Park and play equipment as well as shade structures make great additions to your park or backyard and also encourage kids to go outside and play. Nowadays, most kids just want to spend the whole day watching television or playing their computer games, and it is becoming harder to inspire them to go outdoors and play. Having some great park equipment like grills whether for schools or apartments is one of the great ways that kids can be encouraged to exercise and help to prevent childhood obesity.

Importance of Shade Structures for Parks

As children play around in the park, parents and guardians also need a place to relax and unwind. That is why you should include shade structures and umbrellas in your park so that people can get a place to escape from the hot sun. Kids can also use these structures for when they want to take a break from their games. This can be a great place for kids to interact and make new friends.

Adding Benches and Tables

If you had come with packed lunch you just want a quiet place in the park, then the tables and benches provided should help you out. Sometimes one is just exhausted after running around with the kids and is looking for a nice cool place to relax as their kids continue playing. You can simply sit down on the park bench and if you have something to eat you can place it on the table.

Considerations When Installing Playground Equipment like Shade Structures

You should first check if you have adequate space for installing the shade structures. This will ensure that kids will still have enough space to play around, and the structures will not limit their movements in any way. Additionally, ensure your park umbrellas are made of resilient materials so that they will last for a long time.

When choosing the benches, tables or grills confirm whether they are age-appropriate for the children who are going to be using them. Ensure that there are minimal protruding objects or dangling ropes in your park that may cause children to trip and fall. In addition, they must also be environmentally friendly and simple to maintain.

When considering the safety of your playground equipment like shade structures and tables, confirm that the manufacturer is fully committed to safety and that they meet the load bearing standards. Ask for confirmation of durability tests and also ensure that the manufacture is compliant with the various industry specifications, like whether the playground equipment requires any parent supervision.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, is an old saying, which expresses the importance of child’s play. As temperatures rise through spring, your children will want to spend more and more of their time outdoors playing. It is important to make sure that you do not hinder your child’s development by denying them the opportunity to play. Playtime allows children to exercise physically as well as learn important lessons to develop their minds. With this in mind, it is important to note that by buying the most appropriate playing equipment, your children will be happy and excited to take part in regular playing sessions.

Below we will look at some of the important factors to consider when shopping for the best playground slides.

Cost

Cost is always an influencing factor when it comes to buying playground equipment, and, in this case, slides. To make sure that you do not overspend take some time to look at different playground equipment sellers. This will give you an idea of the average price for slides. It is important to note that cheap is not always the way to go especially when it comes to playground equipment to be used by young children. Consider buying more expensive options so as to have the highest quality for the safest experience.

Shapes

Playground slides come in a wide variety of designs each with its own appeal. The available variety of shapes includes simple shapes for easier and simpler use, to curved and spiral slide designs for added fun. These shapes come in different sizes, and it is advisable to take time to examine whether the space available will suffice.

Colors

Appearance plays a big role in how much children like an object. Children are attracted to colors and getting their favorite color makes them appreciate the slide even more. This also explains why there is a wide variety of all slide shapes and designs in different colors. Whatever your child’s favorite color you will be able to find a slide, which corresponds to the same. If you are buying a slide to add to an existing playground set, it is recommended that you buy one, which adds color and versatility to the available selection.

Materials

Slides are traditionally made from metal or hard plastic. Although there are other materials used to build slides, these are the most common. They are usually durable and stand up to the elements well when used in outdoor playgrounds.

Sizes

Playground slides also come in different sizes. Buyers can choose the best size depending on the available space where the slide is to be installed. Size is also important when it comes to the average age of the users. The larger the slide, the older the users should be.

Anybody that is planning to purchase playground equipment for an institution or a school should take several factors into consideration before making a decision. Among the things that need to be considered include the age group who will use the playground, the level of fun that it can provide, as well as the type of materials used. Aside from this, there are other things that need to be given attention in choosing playground equipment.

Consider the Age Group

The first thing that need to be done is to break down the playground equipment options into three age categories: toddlers to infant school (1-6 year olds), junior school (7-11 year olds), and teens. One common mistake done by administrators is attempting to accommodate all of these age categories into just one place. Even though it is possible, but it might not be successful and can even pose danger to the children.

These days, a lot of younger children would not want to play at an area filled with teens because they are afraid of reprisal. In choosing playground equipment, it is possible to consider at least one or two of the age groups and focus on these, or perhaps separate the playing area so that the smaller children may feel more comfortable while playing.

Children and their Imagination

It is also important to understand that little children often have very big imaginations. By making good use of playground graphics into the play area can turn out to be an effective way in encouraging the use of imagination, thus keeping children active. Imaginative playing equipment, such as the use of trains, wooden ships and castles can foster the minds of the little ones to travel anywhere they want to be while staying in the safety premises of the playground. Also, choosing playground equipment that moves and rocks, such as, swings and horses can prove to be popular since smaller children feel comfortable playing with things that rock.

Older children at junior school tend to be adventurous. Therefore, it is important to develop coordination and confidence at this age. Adventure trails and climbing frames are perfect in developing all of these skills. On the other hand, the older age category of children may be attracted with a clever combination of high-level adventure trains as well as play sport equipment. This can provide the assurance that even teens that are considered tough will not be able to resist joining the rest of the group at playtime.

Choosing playground equipment may also involve tailor-made equipment. Keep in mind that compromising on low quality and cheap materials like plastics may compromise the safety of the children. Therefore, it is important to choose a reliable provider that can provide high-quality equipment.

“All work and no play will make Jack a dull boy.” The quote is often used by a lot of people to refer to the importance of playing to children. Playing enhances the kid’s mind. It promotes physical activities, and it facilitates learning. These are the reasons why a lot of communities, day care centers, schools and churches started putting playground on their vicinities. Though, despite that these play areas are open to every child, many of them are not handicap accessible.

According to a 2010 census, out of the 53.9 million children aging five to 17, about 2.8 millions were reported to have disability. These numbers include children with hearing disabilities, vision difficulties, ambulatory difficulties, and self-care difficulties. Most often than not, these children are denied to access of many play equipment available in their communities. That is the reason why the U.S. Access Board has developed the accessibility guidelines in the American Disability Act (ADA). The guidelines seek freedom for children with disabilities to play and interact with other children. The guidelines gave the idea of putting ramps and ADA play equipment in playgrounds to give handicap children access to different playground facilities.

Why is handicap accessible or ADA play equipment important?

Promote equality: Despite disabilities, all PWD wants to live normally and do things able persons do. Handicap accessible play equipment enables children with disability to access what other kids enjoy. It normalizes their development and growth despite impairment.

Promote social interaction: Usually, disabled children had inclusive playground where they interact with other children with disabilities like them. It can be beneficial as well if you try to bring them in an accessible play area where they can interact with able person. The interaction facilitates social growth and development.

Develop positive outlook: Handicap accessible play equipment changes the psychology of the children with imparity. Normally, children with disability grow shy and inferior. They always see their impairment as a hindrance to personal growth. It is important that while they are still young, you instill in their mind that they are gifted, but they can do what able children can do. Letting them play in an accessible playground with other children can be a good foundation. It does not only give enjoyment to them but also aids in the development of positivity and self-confidence. 

Develop child’s fitness: Handicap accessible equipment can aid in the therapy of some children with disability. It will allow them to move, use their mind and socialize. Play equipment can enhance their different skills and assists learning something new.

Handicap accessible play equipment under ADA guidelines is very beneficial to the development of children with disabilities. In constructing playground in your community, always consider these gifted kids by putting ramps in the play area. Adding other play equipment especially designed for the handicap is a brilliant idea as well.

Make playgrounds accessible to all so there will be no left out—handicapped or not!

More and more schools, parks and residential properties are making it a point to offer children a place to play. This is a welcome and crucial development because it continues to be more apparent that kids need a healthy amount and variety of play, in order to grow up to be more balanced individuals. A child who is not able to play regularly with others could end up with coordination, social and other issues, that will make later life needlessly difficult. Therefore it is incumbent upon parents, as well as the rest of the surrounding community, to make sure that children get the amount and kind of play that they need.

Climbing is a very important aspect of play, and one which results in a number of key benefits. One of these is the fact that climbing helps children to improve various physical aspects such as strength, endurance, hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and the like. The fact is that it is important for kids to be able to make use of, as well as test their physical capabilities. One of the worst things that can happen is when a child simply stays at home, glued in front of a television or playing on a tablet, during all his available free time. Physical exertion is what helps the child to grow stronger, faster and more capable, and climbing is a form of exertion that does things, which simple walking, skipping or running are not able to do.

Another important aspect of climbing is that it helps a child to conquer his fears. This is particularly important because far too many kids end up pampered and coddled, always told to fear this or fear that, usually with the best of intentions. However, this kind of coddling has the undesired effect of raising kids who are full of fear and are afraid to try things, which are out of their comfort zone. This may still be a tolerable situation when the kids are young, and their parents are always around to see to their needs, but what happens when they need to manage on their own? A child full of fear is someone who will miss out on the many exciting and wonderful aspects of life, and this would be such a shame.

Climbing helps kids in defeating fears because it is an activity that seems daunting at first, but then gradually and over time, with more practice and the application of courage, the monkey bars and other climbing equipment can be conquered by even the smallest or most timid kid.

Whether it’s using net climbers, slides, monkey bars or other equipment, the key takeaway here is that this activity helps kids to develop, both physically as well as mentally. By helping children to become more confident in themselves, and more willing to push their limits in constructive ways, those kids as well as society as a whole will benefit.

The generation of kids, today is much different than before as they are hooked with modern gadgets, video games, television shows, the internet, and other activities they can do indoors. This is quite a risk for their health because of the lack of the element of outdoor play. In various researches in the past, a strong link has been exposed with regards to the relationship between play and different aspects of health. In this case, there is no doubt playgrounds are important for children in ways more than one, beyond their physical development. Because of the many benefits of a playground, parents should learn how to give them children the freedom to play outside, but still making sure of their safety while they have fun.

Improvement of Physical Skills

Among other things, playgrounds are important basically because they are a precursor in the physical development of children. According to experts, if the motor skills of children have not fully developed by the time they reach the age of 5, there is a high likelihood they will have mobility problems in the future. With such, one of the best things to do as parents is to encourage them to have fun in playgrounds at such an early age, which will allow them to move and hence, practice their motor skills. This will be instrumental in the improvement of physical strength, balance, and coordination.

Improvement of Creativity

While many of the benefits of playgrounds are focused on the physical aspect, it is also important to point out how they are good in terms of improving imagination and creativity of children. The playground provides opportunities for children to use their creative skills in thinking of the games to play and how they can have fun in ways more than one. They tend to open up their minds into new ideas with regards to how to play. As it improves the creativity of children, it also makes it an essential element in the improvement of their mental skills. They are using their mind as they think of how a game is played and how to have fun.

If there is one thing undeniable in today’s time, it would be the fact that technology has overtaken our lives in ways more than one. It is very easy to just spend the whole day indoors, lying on the couch, and enjoying innovative gadgets introduced year after year. With the internet, for instance, people can just sit all day and play online games or get connected with their social media accounts. With the television, you can spend the entire day watching your favorite shows and eat junk foods. There is very limited physical activity, which is risky for one’s health, especially as it triggers obesity. With this, it is important to make sure to still spend time outside of the house, being engaged in activities that are not only fun, but also good for your health.

Have Other People Involved

In most cases, many people, especially children, decide to just stay indoors because they do not have friends. Watching television or playing video games become a more attractive option because they can be done even on one’s own. To keep the fun in physical activity, one thing that will surely be helpful is to invite more people and make it a group activity. In this way, the activity is not just going to be more physical, but also more social. As we all know, doing anything in a group is always better than doing it alone.

Think of Variety

No matter how fun one physical activity can prove to be, there will come a point you will realize you had too much of it and eventually, will lead into boredom. To keep it fun, it is paramount to discover something new every time. Visit a new park or try a different sport every weekend, if possible. For parents, this is very important as kids can easily lose interest in any activity if they have been doing it repeatedly, or if the activity is simply not interesting at all. If there is variety, there will always be something new for them to do, and they can keep on discovering what they like best amongst the activities they have already tried.

Children develop their minds and muscles during play. It is recommended that you afford your children a lot of play time and access to playing materials and equipment so as to help them make the most of this playtime. Buying a swing set is one of the common ideas that parents stick to in this regard. Buying a swing set may seem like an easy task but in most cases, it is anything but given the variety of shapes/sizes/colors available. Parents have to make multiple considerations in order to ensure that they buy the most suitable design by adhering to some guiding factors. Below we will look at the factors to consider when buying a swing set.

The first and most important factor, to consider before deciding to buy a swing set, is your child’s preference. Take your time to carefully evaluate your child’s activities at the playground to take stock of their preferred play areas. If your child spends a lot of their time on the playground’s swing set then buying a swing set is the right move and is bound to be highly appreciated by the child. On the other hand, if they spend their time with other playground equipment consider changing your decision.

Now that you have made the decision to purchase a swing set, you have even more factors to consider in buying the right set. Swing sets come in a variety of shapes/sizes/colors, enough to make you get dizzy. However, you can follow some guiding principles to identify the right one. You can ask your child their favorite color and use this to choose the best color.

When it comes to selecting one option from the variety of shapes/sizes/colors available, it is important to consider the age of your children and how long you wish to have the swing set for. Younger children including toddlers do not need large swing sets, however if you intend to keep the swing set until your children grow up then a bigger set will stand up to use by growing children. While picking out the perfect sized swing set make sure that you remember to factor in the size of your yard as well.

Swing sets are made of different materials wood, steel and vinyl covered wood are the most common example here. Wood may have aesthetic appeal, but the fact that it stands up poorly to external weather effects and has splinters gives it a poor safety score. Steel is a robust material that can last over a long period of time as well as vinyl covered wood which tends to be the most expensive of the three.

Another factor, to consider when buying a swing set, is the comfort features available, especially for children. Special needs children may require additional comfort and safety features such as harnesses.