As a parent, the safety of your childhood is not something that you can negotiate on. While all parents will want to give their kids some freedom to explore the world and find things for themselves, it’s not always so simple. This is why we recommend that you should take the following things into consideration when choosing a playground for your kids.
Is it in a safe area?
First off, what is the area like? You should do some research and closer inspection into the area. You don’t want to be using a playground for your kids in a rough area, or a location with high crime. Look out for things like gang problems, drug dealing issues and even other more worrying signs like abduction rates in the area.
While this should not be something you’ll enjoy looking into, the protection of your child is not something you should put down to chance. Always take the time to look at the safety of the area.
How can you get there?
Is it easy for you to get the kids there? Can you pick them up without being too intrusive? Most parents want to pick up their kids from every little rendezvous. However, you don’t want to be overbearing: is there any way that you can park up without feeling like you are watching every move of your child in the playground?
What surveillance exists?
For one, every good playground should come with round-the-clock video surveillance. Put simply, if there is no video system to protect the kids, do not use that park. You should only be using parks that come with 100% guarantee of protection for the children.
This is not something that you should negotiate over. If your child finds a park or playground they like, check it out. Make sure it has security: if any problems or incidents take place, security footage is essential for safety.
Is the playground clean?
From making sure the facilities are well maintained to ensuring nothing dangerous or damaging is lying around, you have to keep an eye on the indoor playground for kids. Make sure you survey it closely before your child plays there: search for damaging items, potentially dangerous objects, leftover things like bottles or even needles and any potentially dangerous structural issues.
Do this now and you can avoid finding out your child was playing in a playground that was actually quite dangerous.
Is food provided?
Another (smaller) thing to consider is the importance of food. The little ones will be tearing around all afternoon, and logic dictates they will start to feel a touch famished after a while. We recommend that you only pick a playground that makes it easy for the kids to get access to some food – this will help them to keep energy levels high and have some fun!
With these things in mind, you should be more ready to make a choice on the kind of playground that suits your child. Don’t discount any of the above, though: it’s very important that you make a smart choice, from food to security.