Designing an Inclusive Playground – Meeting the Needs of All Children
An inclusive playground is an important part of any community, providing children with a fun and safe inclusive play space. But not all accessible playgrounds are created equal—some lack the necessary accessibility features needed to ensure that every child can participate in activities. Designing an inclusive playground means creating a play environment where kids of all ages and abilities can join in on the fun. This requires considering a variety of factors, from wheelchair accessible routes to sensory-friendly elements. By following these guidelines developed for designing an inclusive playground, you’ll be able to create a play space that meets the needs of all children and encourages them to explore their boundaries while having fun with friends!
“An inclusive playground is an important part of any community”
1. Identify the needs of all children when designing an inclusive playground
When designing an inclusive playground, it is essential to consider the needs of all children. This includes those with special needs, physical or mental impairments, and development disabilities, as well as average-ability children. How can we be fair to all children when designing inclusive play spaces? It is important to ensure any piece of equipment used on the playground encourages socialization and imaginative play. Specifically, this means providing wheelchair-accessible equipment that allows for risk-taking behavior, as well as spaces that accommodate communication challenges, facilitate sensory integration, and offer opportunities for exploration and skill building. Other important elements include ensuring there are areas of shade, unitary play surfaces that can be used both indoors and outdoors, choices in seating options, individualized activities that encourage cooperation between peers, and easily accessible restrooms and water fountains. Taking these aspects into consideration provides children of all abilities with a safe space where they can interact with their peers regardless of any physical, cognitive, or motor differences.
2. Consider the physical, social, and cognitive abilities of different age groups
Playgrounds can be low to the ground like this river boat to facilitate inclusivity.
When it comes to developmental milestones, children of different age groups have varied capabilities. Infants and toddlers tend to learn from experiences through sensory stimuli, focusing more on the physical aspects such as crawling and walking. As children mature into preschoolers, they take those physical skills to a new level of goal-oriented activities, and their ability for social participation expands. We have discovered that elevated play components that require climbing develop risk rewards rapidly. During this stage, social inclusion with parents, caregivers, and peers becomes integral in developing cognitive abilities such as speech, problem-solving ability, memory skills, and empathy. Ultimately reaching school age marked by elementary school years, children are now equipped to fully explore the world around them more deeply. Communication abilities become increasingly sophisticated over time allowing them to understand intricate concepts further refining their cognitive abilities.
3. Incorporate a variety of activities for children with diverse abilities
Incorporating a variety of activities into playgrounds is an important way to ensure that children of all ability levels can enjoy themselves. Spinning, sliding, climbing, and brachiating are all beneficial ways to engage the body in movement. Spinning increases body awareness and balance while sliding helps develop problem-solving skills. Climbing encourages upper body strength and coordination while brachiating helps foster gross motor skill development. These activities are excellent choices for fostering independence, athleticism, and social participation in children of all abilities as they can access them at their level of comfort and skill.
4. Utilize materials that are safe and accessible to different ages and levels of ability
When considering materials to use for inclusive playgrounds and recreational areas, thick coatings and rubberized mats are just some examples of the various products that help keep children safe. However, age differences and physical ability levels require specialized safety surfaces. Unitary safety surfaces like poured-in-place rubber, rubber tiles, and synthetic turf provide shock-absorbing properties. Using rope around play equipment is a great material to incorporate. Other components that can create meaningful play are tunnels and obstacle courses. Whichever material is chosen, it should insure good visibility, durability, and accessibility and help make sure the area is attractive to everyone who uses it.
5. Make sure your design is compliant with local safety regulations
When designing an inclusive playground, compliance with local safety regulations should be of utmost importance. This means familiarizing yourself with the compliance standards required in your location. For example, compliance with ASTM F1487-21 is necessary as this standard outlines rules and guidelines for commercial playground equipment. Additionally, compliance with the CPSC's handbook Playground Safety Handbook and the American Disability Act (ADAG) Guidelines is also important to ensure that your inclusive playground design meets all necessary safety and accessibility criteria. While compliance may seem overwhelming when first starting, gathering knowledge about these various standards is essential for keeping children safe in your inclusive playground design.
6. Create areas where children can be independent or collaborate with others
Imaginative and parallel play is an important part of a child's development. By providing elements of exploration, imagination, and creativity in day-to-day playtime activities, children can not only practice their problem-solving and communication skills but also gain confidence in trying out new ideas. Kids also enjoy pretend play and solitary play within their environment, creating an imaginary world full of possibilities and ambitions.
7. Include elements that promote imagination, creativity, and exploration in playtime
Here we built a playground in the shape of an airplane to promote imagination
Play together is an integral part of child development, encouraging imaginative, creative, and exploratory skills in young children. Parents can help foster these skills through the provision of non-linear defined play - this involves setting up play spaces without pre-defined rules or goals. When children are in wide-open play spaces, they are free to explore their own rules of play which open the door to creative problem-solving. Breaking traditional rule structures around how toys should be used also helps guide exploratory play. The possibilities not only promote imaginative elements and parallel play but challenge growing minds as children learn for themselves how different items can be used in unexpected ways.
8. Create areas of respite
Creating respite areas within the play space can be a lifesaver for children. These quiet places provide the opportunity to engage in solitary play, away from bustling play equipment. It can be a calm, relaxed zone designed especially for kids to wind down - allowing them the chance to recharge when their senses become overloaded with stimuli. Solitary play provides an excellent way for children to take some time out and express themselves freely without pressure from peers. Whether it’s having an area with play features, including different sensory materials, or creating an outdoor oasis- setting aside this quiet place will enable children to reenergize and refocus.
9. Take time to choose the appropriate manipulatives
Choosing manipulatives carefully can make a big difference in inclusive playgrounds when it comes to strengthening motor skills and assisting in developing the whole child. Manipulatives that are recognizable and interesting can help kids of different abilities in the play space. Charts, patterns, blocks and other components in play spaces can also bring a fun element as children explore concepts. In other words, these manipulatives in the play experience should not only be educational but also engaging and visually appealing for young minds in search of knowledge.
Conclusion
Playtime is a crucial part of childhood development and providing children with the right environment can have tremendous benefits. By creating play areas that are safe, accessible to different ages and levels of ability, compliant with local safety regulations, foster independent, collaborative activities, and promote imagination, creativity, and exploration in playtime - you'll be helping young minds grow as they develop their problem-solving skills. With these tips in mind, we hope you succeed in making your playground an enjoyable place for all!
Creating a safe and accessible playground is no easy task. With the right team of experts, however, you can create an environment wherechildren can safely explore their imaginations, express their creativity, and develop important problem-solving skills. At PlayWell Group, we specialize in designing play areas to meet the needs of all ages and abilities.
