One of the most enjoyable times of the day for children is when they are outside playing with their friends either at home or in the park. For parents, the safety of children is very important whilst they are using local facilities or school playgrounds. A large number of schools and local parks are now having rubber flooring installed as it is the number one material used for all playground surfaces.
The real safety benefits of rubber flooring are softening the impact of a fall. Indeed nine times out of ten injuries are caused when children fall off the equipment and land on a concrete surface. With the help of rubber flooring children can experience a more enjoyable playtime as well as less worry for their parents and the staff at the school.
Trying to control a child’s enthusiasm when playing can be a very difficult task for any parent and especially when they are playing with other children as they become very competitive. A recent survey reports that 40 per cent more injuries happen when children play in a group of four or more as opposed to when they are playing on their own. This is where playground surfaces can be a big help for both schools and local councils as they reduce the risk and number of injuries reported each month.
There are numerous companies and organisations that offer to install playground surfaces and they can tailor this to their client’s needs. Rubber flooring comes in a range of varieties, textures and colours. The next step is now having designs implemented on the flooring with localised characters and those from children’s books are the most popular choice. Sports flooring, interlocking rubber floor tiles, athletic flooring and rubber flooring rolls are now also becoming widely available and they help to prevent any further injuries or accidents.
Long gone are the days of the traditional school lunchtime where hundreds of children ran around in a small concrete area with football matches all overlapping each other. Playground surfaces can help to spate specific areas of the playground providing a more productive lunch time play with reduced injuries. The number of installed playground surfaces within schools over the last twelve months has risen by 30 per cent with head teachers opting for a more softer approach and reduced injuries of their children.
From looking at playground surfaces the real benefits for any organisation are the following:
- Reduced injuries on landing
- Strong reliable surface
- All weather terrain
- Affordable cost
- Long term use
Article written by Alan Kelly representing www.gardenandbuilding.co.uk who offer playground surfaces and a free no obligation consultation.