Quite often PTA’s and PTO’s purchase playground equipment with the proceeds of their fundraisers. Now many are purchasing Playground Safety Equipment.

Swinging on a swing, the wind flowing through your air; sliding down a slide, the ground rushing up at your feet; playing tag with a group of your best friends. Playgrounds can be, and often are, the home to great days of fun. Surely, every one of us can think back to a favorite playground game or activity. But we can all also remember someone who got hurt as a result of one of three things; either a lack of safety equipment, some faulty equipment, or just from “kids being kids”. Oftentimes, the first of those three, if resolved, can prevent the other two.

Playground safety equipment can come in a number of different forms. From various ground covers, to padding on equipment, safety should always come first.

The type of material covering the ground surrounding equipment can seriously affect the level of safety experienced on that equipment. Mats are becoming a fashionable and highly effective form of safety. With their high level of shock absorption, they take away most of the force from falls that often cause injuries such as scrapes and bruises, or even broken bones. The other major benefit to mats as a form of playground safety equipment as opposed to more traditional forms of ground cover such as gravel is that the matting does not hide objects in it. For example, gravel could conceal such items as broken glass, trash, or even dirty Band Aids.

Another common and very effective method of making playgrounds safer is the addition of padding to equipment. Sharp edges are often the source of injuries, some quite serious. I myself tripped and fell against the edge of a soccer goal and cut my knee when I was in the fourth grade. The injury required eight stitches and left a fairly significant scar. A simple pad, placed around the base of the uprights on the soccer goal would have greatly reduced the opportunity to hurt my leg.

Even with all the options available to parents and schools as far as physical equipment is concerned, the most effective form of making a playground safer is the careful watch of a concerned adult. Very often, injuries could be prevented simply by having an attentive supervisor watching children playing.

Whatever method you use to make your playground safer, the end goal is always the same. Making children safer, from the equipment and from themselves, should always be the focus. A wealth of options exists. Just do the research to determine which is right for you.

As for the best fundraising idea for your school, PTA or PTO that would need to be a decision that you make as a group. However you will find that most traditional fundraisers work well when the kids know they will benefit directly from the results of the fundraiser. So be sure to inform parents and students alike why you are raising the money, how it will affect them personally and how much the school is counting on their individual efforts to achieve the collective goal.

Author Bio: By Howard Gottlieb with Easy Fundraising Ideas. We offer free supplies so your School Fundraiser can start with no upfront cost. Start a Cookie Dough fundraiser or a Coffee fundraiser today.

Category: Society
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