Children are developmentally different in size and ability. Selecting the right playground equipment for your age group is critical to making sure the playground is fun, accessible and safe for the children who will use it.
The Dangers of selecting the wrong equipment
When children who are older use equipment that is designed for younger kids, they often become bored. The adventurous side of them comes out and they decide to take risks to make the equipment more challenging, thus using it improperly. The end result is almost always either damaged equipment or an injured child. The opposite is true with younger children. When they approach difficult equipment, they can have difficulty reaching and climbing, and are often intimidated. They may attempt to scale the equipment, only to freeze half-way, without being able to get out of the challenge either forwards or backwards.
Selecting age-appropriate playground equipment
Playground Equipment for Pre Schoolers (2-5 Years)
Two-year-olds represent the lower age limit of the preschool group. These children are new to the playground, and like having a place of their own, sized appropriately. These youngsters have a limited attention span. For this audience, the best playground challenges involve climbing over, under and around things
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Older pre-schoolers enjoy dramatic play and imitating others. Social skills are just developing, and a desire to be like the “big kids” may result in conflicts and exposure to physical risk. Supervision is quite important at this age. Appropriate play areas for children ages 2 - 5 could include: areas to crawl; low platforms with multiple access such as ramps and ladders; ramps with pieces attached for grasping; and shorter slides (usually no taller than 2 meters).
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Playground Equipment for School Age Children (5-12 Years)
Children ages 5 to 12 are learning and building skills rapidly. They are working on fine motor skills, gross motor skills, coordination, strength and balance. Their social skills are becoming more evolved and elaborate games and competitions abound on the playground. Developmentally appropriate play areas for school-age children could include: rope or chain climbers on angles; climbing pieces; monkey bars; and cooperative pieces such as tyre swings, slides and fireman’s poles.
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Need help selecting the right equipment for your playground? Call us 083 538 5684 or email Caroline@rustics.co.za
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