Every parent wants a safe space for their child to play. Your local playground is no less important than your own backyard. Here we discuss why the type of playground equipment you choose is so important for a child’s development and safety.
Sand is a staple for both at home and park playgrounds, the material used is highly important. The purpose of play sand is to create a shock-absorbent surface around playground equipment, as well as a fun place for kids to get creative and play. It’s an area that can be utilised to increase a child’s sensory skills; fine and gross motor skills, hand eye coordination, creativity, and language development.
Good for Play
Because playground sand has been around for decades, most people don’t give much thought to how important it still is for our children. What do you really know about the types of sand that your children are playing in? As all playgrounds are different; therefore so are the types of sand they utilise. The more you know about it, the more value your children will get out of where you take them to play.
What does it look like?
What do you envisage when you think about playground sand? If you said soft, white sand – correct! That’s because fine, washed white sand is a shock-absorbing, easy to rub off sand type that is easy on our children’s skin – and makes it very easy to spot foreign objects that might hurt our children during play.
What do we want? Soft fall! Easy to rake! Fine Granules!; And definitely a nice contrasting colour to be able to spot foreign objects with. White anyone? Hitting the markers.
Many schools, councils and parents actually choose to work with white mason sand for these very reasons.
This type of sand is carefully sized, screened and washed so that it’s safe for children to play in. People who prefer the white colouration and especially the fine texture of washed white sand may choose to utilise this type of material for play areas at home too – it’s easy to spot foreign or dangerous objects like sticks or plastic/metal toys pieces that break off.
Who’s got it?
Perth’s premier sand suppliers, Carramar Resource Industries (CRI), provide a range of fine sand options suitable for home, commercial, public and industry spaces; with sand delivery options available. Talk to one of their experts so they can tailor to the needs of you or your loved ones. More information can be found at: here, or on (08) 9405 3877.