Review the Step 1 activity checkpoints before doing these activities.
(There are no Step 2 activity checkpoints for this activity.)

Did you know? Each year more than 200,000 U.S. children are treated in hospital emergency departments for injuries sustained on playground equipment. Injuries can be reduced by placing resilient surfacing below equipment, better maintaining equipment, improving supervision, and using age-appropriate equipment.

Planning and Supervision

£     Girls should not use playground equipment without adult supervision.

£     Leaders teach girls to use equipment properly, safely, and as intended.

£     Girls should not run, push, or shove on the playground.

£     Girls should not stand close to a moving swing or other moving apparatus.

£     Girls wait their turns to use equipment such as slides.

£     Girls must not tease or play with neighborhood pets.

Clothing

£     Clothing is snug-fitting or tucked in to avoid snagging or tangling in any of the playground equipment. Wearing clothing with drawstrings on a hood or around the neck is not permitted.

Equipment

£     Equipment is anchored so that it does not tip, slide, or move in an unintended manner.

£     All wood parts are smooth and free of splinters.

£     Wet or damaged equipment is not used.

£     All metal edges are rolled or have rounded capping.

£     There are no sharp points, corners, or edges on any components of playground equipment.

£     There are no accessible pinch, crush, or tearing points on individual pieces of equipment.

£     Protrusions or projections of play ground equipment cannot entangle girls’ clothing.

Site

£     Physical activities are separate from more passive or quiet activities; areas for play equipment, open fields, and sandboxes are in different sections of the playground.

£     Equipment and activity areas are without visual barriers; there are clear sightlines everywhere on the playground to facilitate supervision.

£     Traffic patterns are clearly separate for individual pieces of equipment.

£     Moving equipment, such as swings or merry-go-rounds, is located toward a corner of the playground.

£     The playground does not have rocks, roots, and other protrusions from the ground that may cause girls to trip.

Surfacing

£     Hard-surfaced materials, such as asphalt or concrete, are unsuitable under and around playground equipment of any height, unless they serve as a base for a shock- absorbing material, such as a rubber mat. Acceptable playground surfacing materials are rubber-like materials, sand, gravel, and shredded wood products.

Emergency Procedures and First Aid

See Step One – Universal Checkpoints.

These pages are for check-list purposes only. Please refer to your Safety-Wise book to make sure the checklist information is current and accurate.
These pages are not endorsed by Girl Scouts of the USA.  'Girl Scouts' and 'Girl Scouts of the USA' are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Girl Scouts of the USA.

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