Are you adding a jungle gym to your garden, but don’t know how to keep your children safe? You aren’t alone! We are regularly asked about the best ways to keep children safe in a jungle gym, avoiding the risk of serious injuries and keeping the fun going. Today, we are here with our top safety tips that will keep your children safe, including checking the weather beforehand and adding additional safety equipment. See our 7 tips below!
1. Check the Weather Beforehand
Before your children use the jungle gym, you will want to check the weather to ensure it is safe to do so. Wet and frosty conditions make jungle gyms slippery, especially if you have a metal structure. The slippery surface will increase your child’s chance of falling and make it harder for them to use the jungle gym. A frosty ground is also harder and won’t absorb as much impact when your child falls, increasing the severity of the injury. Before your child uses the jungle gym, ensure the surface is wiped down or left to dry and the ground below has thawed.
Hot conditions can also be harmful, especially if you have a metal jungle gym. Metal structures don’t absorb heat very well and can remain hot to the touch for hours, increasing the chance of your child burning themselves when they grab the equipment. Test the jungle gym before your children use it and monitor its temperature throughout the day during the warmer summer months.
2. Set Ground Rules
To ensure your children are safe, you should set ground rules that need to be followed by all children in the jungle gym. You might want to create these rules together with older children and find somewhere to display them to remind children how to conduct themselves in the jungle gym. The rules might vary depending on your children and the jungle gym you have, but typically, we recommend the following:
- Keeping a safe distance from swings and other sites while they are being used
- Staying on a swing until it stops moving before getting off
- Ensuring that they are not swinging at an angle or with empty seats
- Playing nicely with other children and ensuring everyone gets time to play with all of the jungle gym
It’s worth having consequences in place for anyone not following the rules and supervising your children while playing in the jungle gym to ensure they are safe and the rules are followed.
3. Teach Children to Swing Safely
If the jungle gym comes with swings, then you need to teach your children to swing safely to avoid injuries to themselves or other children. Children should be taught that only one child should sit on a swing at a time, and they should be in the centre of the seat. Teach them to keep a safe distance of anyone swinging to avoid getting kicked and not to jump off the swing mid-air.
You will also want to check the maximum capacity of the jungle gym when a swing is used and ensure it is not exceeded.
4. Don’t Exceed the Maximum Capacity
The maximum capacity of a jungle gym should not be ignored. Overloading a jungle gym can reduce its stability, and it might start to wobble making it unsafe for your children. Regularly overloading a jungle gym can also reduce its durability and you might need to repair or replace it. To avoid this and keep your children safe, check the maximum capacity and weight limit and ensure they are followed.
We recommend supervising your children and keeping an eye on how many children are in the jungle gym. You might need to remind them to take turns or set time limits that ensure everyone gets time to play in the jungle gym.
5. Have a Clear Area Around the Jungle Gym
Where you set the jungle gym up is important for your children’s safety. Jungle gyms will need a clear space around them, usually 2 meters, which reduces the chance of them hurting themselves. You don’t want to place the jungle gym close to any trees, buildings, furniture, or hard objects that could injure your child if they fall. The floor space around the jungle gym needs to be clear, too, so your children won’t fall on anything and hurt themselves.
6. Use the Equipment as Intended
While jungle gyms can inspire creativity, it is important that your children use the equipment as intended to keep them safe.
This means no twisting ropes, chains, or swings, hanging upside down, or crowding around one piece of equipment. You can include this in your rules and should show children how to use each part of the jungle gym before they play independently.
7. Add Extra Safety Features
Most jungle gyms will come with safety features to keep your little ones safe, but you can also choose to add extra safety features to keep your children safe. You can add additional safety bars and handrails on platforms, along with fence boards, to reduce the chance of your children falling from open platforms. Adding additional safety features can be expensive, so we recommend looking for a jungle gym that comes with all the safety features you need to keep your little ones safe.
Find your Jungle Gym Today
By using our 7 safety tips, you can keep your children safe and reduce the chance of an accident and injury. When choosing a jungle gym to add to your arden, we recommend checking out Vuly Play. Their jungle gyms come with plenty of safety features to keep your children safe, with an option to suit every budget. Find your Vuly Play jungle gym today!