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An astounding statistic—the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimated that approximately 200,000 children are hospitalized each year for playground-equipment-related injuries. About 150,000 of these injuries occur on public playgrounds, while 50,000 occur on residential playgrounds. Thus, to better keep your children safe, consider installing safety mats for playgrounds. An outdoor playmat can dramatically reduce the potential for a fall to severely injure a child. Many public parks are installing outdoor safety flooring for playgrounds, and homeowners should follow suit—safety mats for playgrounds have become increasingly important. Playground equipment should never be installed over grass or concrete since these surfaces aren’t soft enough to dampen the impact of a fall. In this article, we’ll answer the following three questions:
- What do you use for playground flooring?
- What is the safest playground flooring?
- Is rubber flooring safe for kids?
What Do You Use for Playground Flooring?
For playground flooring, rubber is the best option if you want to increase playground safety. While there are many options of protective playground surfacing available, rubber tiles are recommended because of their many safety qualities, as listed below:
Solid Surface, Clean Edges: While concrete chips and cracks after time, rubber tiles remain smooth. And if they are damaged, they can be replaced easily—simply replace the damaged tile with a new one, and that’s it. The smooth surface that a rubber safety mat provides reduces the chances of children tripping on an uneven surface. Plus, rubber child-safety-mat products usually come with ramps that outline the perimeter of the play area, better ensuring that children won’t trip over the edges of the tiles. With a solid surface such as most safety mats for playgrounds, any sharp object—like broken glass—remains identifiable in plain sight. With looser surfaces, foreign objects can become lodged in the ground, remaining hidden until they are found—a safety hazard, especially for children. Furthermore, rubber safety mats for playgrounds are much easier to clean than most other forms of surfacing. This is because rubber is naturally water resistant, so it’s less likely that it will succumb to grime. Put together, these factors alone make a compelling case for why we need safety mats for playgrounds.
“Eco-Sport 1-inch” Interlocking Rubber Flooring Tiles
- This rubber surfacing can be permanently installed using adhesive glue
- Great for use as gym flooring, flooring for a basement, outdoor deck surfacing, playground surfacing, trade show floors, and more
- Ramps available upon request. The sloped ramps are great for use as safe entry points and are useful for getting wheeled equipment onto the mats
Surface Protection: Since these rubber floor tiles are 1″ thick, each outdoor tile is perfect for protecting the base surfacing of an area. Heavy objects and/or a high volume of foot traffic can damage surfaces like wood. By installing this durable rubber surfacing, you are essentially adding a barrier between your area’s base surfacing and outside stresses like treadmills or sofas.
DIY Flooring: Another feature that makes these recycled mats so popular is their ease of installation. It makes a great do-it-yourself project, saving you the unwanted additional expenses of hiring third party installers. Each outdoor tile comes with pre-drilled holes on each side. These holes are meant for special connector pins (sold separately) that hold each tile firmly together. The beauty of interlocking floor tiles lies in their easy to install nature. Save yourself some extra time and money with these rubber floor tiles!
Anti-Slip: Using a rubber child-safety-mat greatly reduces the risk of slips and falls because rubber has a naturally high coefficient of friction, which means that rubber enhances traction. With children running every which way, it’s highly sensible for safety mats for playgrounds to be made of rubber—so that children are protected from slips and falls. While slips are bound to happen, the number of accidental trips greatly lessens when a rubber outdoor playmat is in place.
Shock-Absorbent: Rubber naturally absorbs shock. Thus, a kid’s playmat, when made of rubber, will dampen the force that impacts him, should he fall. The physics explanation gets convoluted, so here’s the lowdown: A rubber safety mat distributes force from impact, thereby scattering the direction of the force that’s sent back into the falling object. With rubber, everything hurts less. Thus, when safety mats for playgrounds are made of rubber, children are better protected against the becoming seriously injured. This is perhaps the most important safety feature of them all. Rubber, outdoor flooring for playgrounds offers a cushioned surface for extra protection. While a rubber play mat cannot completely prevent pain, it vastly reduces chance of severe injury. Critically, make sure the play-ground surface you choose has a fall-height rating of at least six feet. This rating certifies that the product can adequately dampen a fall from up to six feet. If your playground’s structures are taller than six feet, though, you should get a play-ground flooring that’s rated according to your playground’s maximum height.
Rubber Swing Set Mats 54” Diameter
- Easy to clean and water-resistant
- Exhibits excellent weathering and UV resistant qualities
- Best ground cover under swing sets
- Made from high quality vulcanized natural rubber
- Marks the landing area in outdoor swings
Water-Proof, UV and Weather Resistant: Using a UV resistant rubber mat for a swing set ground cover is imperative since the swing set mat is expected to protect the floor surface below. This is especially important when the surface below is natural landscaping like grass and the area may have been damaged. UV and weathering resistance refers to rubber material’s ability to resist UV radiation and outdoor moisture (i.e., rain & snow). Having a waterproof rubber mat for swing areas also reduces the amount of water that can puddle up around areas that have been scraped away. This rubber swing set mat is 100% waterproof and any moisture left on the surface of the mat either will run off or will stay on top and will not get through the body of the rubber mat.
What is the Safest Playground Flooring?
The safest playground flooring is rubber flooring. Rubber flooring is smooth, slip-resistant, shock-absorbent, water-resistant, and durable—very important for playground safety. Both a public and residential playground surface must follow the safety guidelines set forward by the CPSC to better ensure that your family is protected against playground-related injuries. While it is impossible to guarantee absolute safety, minimize your risk by installing a rubber outdoor playmat. With all the traits you now know about rubber, it’s a clear choice which material is best for the job.
Is Rubber Flooring Safe for Kids?
When it comes to playground safety, rubber flooring is absolutely safe for kids to climb, swing, and jump on. Rubber safety mats for playgrounds possess all the qualities that define safe play-area surfacing. Furthermore, outdoor flooring for playgrounds is often available in interlocking designs. This makes rubber, outdoor play-area surfaces very DIY-friendly. And for enhanced playground safety at public parks, urge your community leaders to install safety tiles for playgrounds where kids often play. A rubber child-safety-mat is a comfortable and affordable layer of protection for your family, as well as your community.
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