Playground builder conniebragg of Beaver Pennsylvania emailed me a question today that I thought the KaBOOM! community would be help her answer.
"Since our playground is on church property but certainly will be open to all the community, do you suggest that we post a sign that says that adult supervision is required in order to use playground? How do other places go about this?
She is building this weekend so she could use some advice and guidance pronto!
Hi Connie,My first thought is that you want to check with the church about what kind of liability they have for the site. To make adult supervision required typically means that a) the landowner has some kind of liability policy for that area that requires children be accompanied by an adult AND/OR b) the landowner / playground owner has a way to regulate whether or not children are accompanied by an adult.
I would recommend having "Adult Supervision Recommended" on the playground sign - usually that's included on the "Playground Rules" sign you order through your equipment vendor.
If the playground is truly an open community playground, there's a good chance that kids will be there with and without adults. Having something about recommended adult supervision can't hurt. It's always safer to have parents and guardians with their children at the playground.
Good luck with your build this week!
Connie,
I would also add that the ASTM-1487 standards for playgrounds (15.2.1) states "Signs or labels providing information as the age appropiateness of users and "adult supervision is recommneded" shall be required on all playgrounds.
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