Most kids these days have never had more options when it comes to fun - video games and electronic entertainment of all kinds are ubiquitous, and so are all kinds of moving toys. But amid a national childhood obesity epidemic, the need for children to play and exert the energy that builds up in fast-growing little bodies has never been more critical. Active outdoor play is crucial not only for physical exercise and fresh air, but also for making friends and developing social skills, both in the city and in suburban communities.

1. Playground
Equipments: All You
Need to Know

2.  Most kids these days have never had more options when it comes to fun -
video games and electronic entertainment of all kinds are ubiquitous, and
so are all kinds of moving toys. But amid a national childhood obesity
epidemic, the need for children to play and exert the energy that builds up
in fast-growing little bodies has never been more critical. Active outdoor
play is crucial not only for physical exercise and fresh air, but also for
making friends and developing social skills, both in the city and in
suburban communities.

3.  Most kids these days have never had more options when it comes to fun -
video games and electronic entertainment of all kinds are ubiquitous, and
so are all kinds of moving toys. But amid a national childhood obesity
epidemic, the need for children to play and exert the energy that builds up
in fast-growing little bodies has never been more critical. Active outdoor
play is crucial not only for physical exercise and fresh air, but also for
making friends and developing social skills, both in the city and in
suburban communities.

4.  The way children play is also important; it should be fun, safe, and healthy
for them from sport court construction. These and many other things make
parents of every generation to come bring their children back to the
playgrounds and make having a playground or some well-chosen
equipment a real asset to a condo, cooperative, or community by HOA.

5. More Access, Less Concrete
 A playground is a desirable amenity with a number of health and social
benefits, but we also live in a highly litigious society, and a poorly designed
or maintained play area is a disadvantage, not an advantage. Avoiding
accidents to your building or association's play equipment is an obvious
way to keep your smallest residents safe, of course, but it is also imperative
to avoid lawsuits. There are many new developments in the materials and
design of play equipment, and regardless of whether they have children
themselves, board members and other residents should know something
about these play systems.

6.  A few decades ago, the playground equipment was pretty basic and the
children were mostly unsupervised while playing from EPDM rubber
flooring. The equipment usually consisted of swings, seesaws, some metal
bars, and a metal slide with sharp corners or two, along with basketball
hoops and maybe a tetherball setup. In recent decades, playground
equipment has come a long way; the colorless pieces of welded metal laid
on the unbreakable, heat-trapping black asphalt are long gone. Today, kids
play with all kinds of neat interactive equipment, and if they spill, their fall
is usually smoothed over with industrial-grade foam padding rather than
asphalt or gravel.

7.  Asphalt and concrete foundations for playground foundations have been
phased out since the late 1970s and replaced with easier-to-use ones. But
it wasn't until the 1980s that there was a truly concerted push to improve
the safety of playgrounds and playground equipment in the U.S. Industry
experts say the newer and more environmentally conscious regulations
Safety was the result of thousands of reports for playhouse for kids from
emergency rooms and hospitals across the country of fractures and other
injuries sustained by children who slipped, fell or were cut on old-school
play equipment. .

8.  Around that time, playground equipment began to move away from
simple metal and asphalt setups to the more colorful and user-friendly
options currently on the market. The change accelerated in the 1990s,
when the Consumer Product Safety Commission took a closer look at
playground equipment in schools, parks, and homeowners' associations
across the country, with a view to revising and improving the guidelines.
Security and materials. At that time, parks and play areas were subject to
federal law with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); In addition to
meeting the new safety standards, those play spaces now also had to be
accessible to everyone, regardless of their capacity.

9.  Perhaps surprisingly, the consumer playground equipment like climber for kids
market has not really fluctuated over the years. Despite a faltering economy
and the rise of computer games, homeowners associations and residential
buildings still buy and install as much new equipment as in the past.
Regardless of economic times, people have children and children need to play,
and that has made playground manufacturing a recession-proof business.
Equipment wears out too - 12-15 years is typically the life of the playground
equipment.
 Playground suppliers and manufacturers are located across the country,
making it relatively easy to upgrade an established playground or create a new
one from scratch. While the equipment and surface offerings are diverse,
vendors are happy to explain the options and the process by which an old
playground is renovated or a new one is built.

10. Planning for Fun
 While some pieces of equipment have fallen out of favor (metal slides that
heat up to skin-scorching temperatures in the summer being a good
example), other items - like playsets that incorporate an array of activities
like climbing, swinging, sliding, and crawling through tubes and tunnels
remain consistently popular. So are pieces made of recycled or upcycled
materials.
 “Whenever we design a new playground, 90 percent of the time it includes
some sort of play structure, meaning an assortment of climbers, panels,
slides, bridges and tunnels,” says George Ely, owner of George Ely
Associates, an installer of playgrounds based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

11.  If a community is planning to install new equipment or construct a play area
from scratch, the first step is the same as hiring any kind of contractor: doing
some research, then reaching out to three or four vendors or installers to
discuss your building or association's vision, budget, demographics, and
available space for the project. “We will guide them through understanding the
playground equipment, its installation, and who’s going to install it,” Ely says.
 Such guidance often can include a computer-aided mock-up of what the play
area could look like after it's done, and can even include a 'virtual walk-
through' of different iterations of a design, allowing a board or playground
planning committee to 'try on' various options before committing to
purchasing equipment. Professionals will also take into account factors like the
age group or groups of children that will be using the play area. Play
equipment is generally geared toward either of two groups: 2- to 5-year-olds,
and 5- to 12-year-olds.

12.  Some of the most popular pieces of playground equipment remain the
same; but things are changing. They're getting fancier.
 “Composite structures — slides and climbers, are still very popular,” says
Keith Davis, a sales rep for Game Time Play in Sea Girt, New Jersey, which
designs playgrounds and sells play equipment. “But over the last several
years, there’s been more of an interest in theme-ing. More playgrounds
have been going for a ‘natural’ look, with artificial trees and artificial
boulders, ”Artificial trees made of fiberglass, that kids can climb on, are
very popular now, he adds.

13.  Obviously, installing play equipment meant for 12-year-olds when 5-year-
olds will be playing with wooden kids house on it is a big liability.
Understanding the needs of the kids in the community and their parents is
important, and that’s why involving a pro is crucial. While in the past, do-
it-yourself sets that required assembly by the purchaser were popular,
these days it’s far more common - and advisable - to have a professional
installer set up and test new play equipment. This goes back to safety, and
the issue of liability and litigation. An improperly set up piece of
equipment could easily cause injury or worse to a child using the set, and
cost an association millions in damages. Professional installers work
directly with manufacturers, and are specialists. They stand by their work,
and the manufacturer stands behind all equipment that is correctly
installed and maintained.

14. Safe landings
 Playground safety starts from scratch. In some respects, a playground is only as
safe as the surface on which it sits.
 Perhaps the most important aspect of any playground installation or
renovation is the surface area for playhouse slides. The surface of the
playground, whatever it is, has a lot to do with the severity of injuries a child
can sustain in a major fall. At worst, asphalt and concrete surfaces are the most
likely children to be injured in a fall, but those old types of surfaces are rarely
seen in modern play areas. Common sense and local and national regulations
dictate safer surfaces than the old type of play at your own risk.
 There are several types of surfaces that are used in modern playgrounds. They
include unit liner, which is a material that is poured into place that looks like
rubber mulch. It is mixed with a binding agent and can be quickly installed and
spread at different levels of thickness.

15.  A second type of cladding is the "rubber mat" variety, referred to as "tile" by
manufacturers and installers. Rubber and wood mulch is also used as a surface in
playgrounds. Wood playground mulch is a very different breed from the types of mulch
used in flower beds; Playground mulch is called "engineered wood grain" in industry
parlance, and is very specifically sized and shaped to prevent chipping and compaction
of the surface. "If those pieces [of mulch] are too small, they stick together and compact,
and the surface becomes too hard," says Bill Daubert, project manager for The
Playground Pros, a playground equipment installer in Newmanstown, Pennsylvania. .
 There is also synthetic grass, commonly known under one of his brands, AstroTurf,
which generally has an inch or more of cushion under its surface (the thickness depends
on the potential height of a fall at that location).
 "Falls are a huge source of playground injuries," says Daubert. “In addition to that, you
must have safety zones around the equipment, so that the child falls. You need at least
six feet around the structure of a playground. For swings, your safety zone is twice the
height of the crossbar, front and back. "

16. Other considerations
 Once a playground is installed, maintenance can be contracted out to an
installation company, which will have workers inspect the play area regularly,
usually a couple of times a year. But play areas can be used a lot and may need
more attention, depending on wear and tear, weather damage, and other
factors. "Having someone to support it is great," Davis says. But vandalism
happens all the time. That playing area should be checked as often as possible.
 "The days of being able to play at your own risk are over," adds Davis. “Many
attorneys now have a playground safety inspector certification, which allows
them to inspect a playing field that is in dispute. Risk managers, attorneys,
school employees, and others are earning that certification. If they have an
active playground in the community, the building superintendent may want to
get that certification. "

17.  Meghan O'Brien, president of O'Brien & Sons, Inc., the largest provider of
outdoor recreation equipment in New England (and a certified playground
safety inspector), agrees and urges the boards directives to implement regular
documented maintenance of your playground equipment. "Whether it's daily,
weekly, or monthly, a board should set a schedule and make [playground
maintenance] someone's responsibility so that you're covered in terms of
liability," she says. After the snow and ice have melted and the weather's been
getting nicer, "you'll want to look for anything that's been smashed or just
broken. You'll need to take a look at the entire playground to make sure it's in
good working order. Conditions, as far as missing parts are concerned. You will
need to ensure that the surface is adequate, as you typically need a "loose fill"
surface that is at least 12 inches deep. Also, look for broken bottles or other
objects in the area and clubs that may have fallen. "

18.  And if no one available has the time or desire to look for hazards on the
playground, O'Brien points out that a board can hire a playground inspector,
whom it would pay to audit the space. "It all comes from a risk management
point of view," she says. "If you hire an inspector to look at your playground or
appoint a board member to certify, and you have created a regulatory
maintenance plan yourself, then you have increased your risk management
and reduced your responsibility. "
 Another way to limit potential liability is to make sure people are aware of the
playground rules. Any playground or parklet should have a large, easy-to-read
sign that explains the rules of the space, including the age limits for who can
play there, as well as the rules regarding the presence of adults in the space.
Many play areas specify that adults may not enter unless accompanied by a
child of the appropriate age for the team.

19.  Overall, playgrounds and play equipment are an attractive and valuable
service to any multi-family community. They add value, foster community
spirit, and offer children and adults a place to socialize and exercise, all on
their own home grounds. Smart planning, proper installation, and regular
maintenance can ensure that your community's play space remains a safe,
fun, and well-liked service for years to come.

20. About Us
 CCPLAY is a certified specialists in the provision of high-quality outdoor
and indoor playground equipment, inflatables, school's furniture, and
sports flooring in UAE.
 CCPLAY has years of experience, effective services, and a trove of
capabilities so you don’t have to worry about all things relating to outdoor
and indoor playground equipment, inflatables, schools and nurseries
furniture, garden furniture, and safety flooring.
 Website - https://www.ccplay.ae/