Nurturing young children’s bodies and minds is essential for a happy and healthy upbringing. A great way to help wee ones grow and socialize is to provide them with a toddler-friendly playground.
If you are preparing to develop and build a playground with toddlers in mind, you’ll need to pay close attention to the design process.
You might be directly involved in the design as a creative or logistics-oriented person and are getting ready to work on a new playground project. Or, you are a community stakeholder, property owner, or otherwise need some context and background information to inform your decisions as you hire third-party experts to take care of designing a playground that’s friendly to toddlers.
Site Selection
One of the most important things on your design to-do list is to locate the site where you’ll be building the toddler-friendly playground.
You’ll have details about the dimensions, natural features (such as trees or a pond), and its proximity to other amenities, such as walking paths and public transportation. How much parking space will you have in ratio to the available space for toddlers to play?
Determine Safety Features
Safety should be your highest priority when designing a park for children, especially when toddlers will be playing there.
To safeguard the little ones, select flooring made of mulch, sand or rubber, as recommended by The Home Depot. You’ll want to include shade, to protect toddlers from sunburn and heat stroke, as well as to keep parents comfortable while they supervise their kids.
Think Like a Toddler
Toddlers have vivid imaginations and want to play in stimulating environments. Let this be your guiding principle as you begin the design process. Toddlers will be attracted to themes, such as animals, or ancient castles.
They’ll want to play on interactive features, such as slides and swings. Toddler-friendly playhouses with colorful designs are also worthy of your consideration.
Make Sure to Include Toddlers With Disabilities
The playground can be a great equalizer, allowing kids from all walks of life to spend time together in the same space, having fun, and getting to make new friends.
For toddlers with disabilities, it’s of paramount importance that they have the same level of access as their non-disabled peers. This is why you want to make sure your playground does not pose barriers to entry. One example is providing two versions of equipment, with one for toddlers to sit on and one for toddlers to stand on.
It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also a matter of regulation. According to a report from Bloomberg, the U.S. government began requiring play areas to have entry paths for wheelchair users and a minimum amount of activities for ground-level play, since 2010. Keep in mind that approximately 5 percent of disabilities have to do with mobility issues, per Bloomberg, with more disabled toddlers being autistic or having sensory or cognitive disabilities.
Consult With the Community
Before you begin the design process in earnest, it’s prudent to solicit comments and suggestions from members of the community and then meet with them to address their ideas. You’ll benefit from the multiple points of view. Input from a diverse community can help you design a better playground, bringing more fun to more toddlers and their families.
You might also want to consult with playground development professionals, to take advantage of their experience and knowledge.
Do You Need Expert Advice in Designing a Toddler-Friendly Playground? Call Us Today!
Preparing a fun place for toddlers and their parents or guardians to spend time is a great use of resources since a toddler-friendly playground can play an instrumental role in promoting healthy child development in your community. What’s more, the existence of the playground itself is a signal to parents, encouraging them to move to the area.
At Churchich Recreation and Design, we are devoted to helping homeowner associations, schools, communities, and other organizations create outstanding playgrounds for the kids in their area.
Our knowledgeable professionals are standing by to assist. To learn more about our approach to toddler-friendly design or to request some help, get in touch with us today.