Reducing Playground Injuries with Padding

Questions about child proofing playground equipment.

Q: "I am in charge of maintenance for a small chain of preschool/day care centers. we've used ground tires as mulch under our playground equipment to reduce injuries. We are now looking for protective padding for the swing set poles, soccer goal posts and other playground equipment to reduce bruises and other injuries. I see that you have pole padding and edge cushioning. How would we install these products?

Answer: Thanks to customers like you and a responsive child safety company, we now sell protective padding for poles as well as the wider edge cushioning. The pole padding comes in lengths of 48 inches and fits poles up to 3.5 inches in diameter. You can use two back to back for larger poles.The most popular color right now is the yellow padding. You can install this cushioning by using wire ties or using a glue such as Liquid Nails.

Pole Padding Specifications:

• Tough, UV resistant exterior.
• Child safe dense padding.
• Superior shock absorbancy.
• Available colors: Bright Red (BR), Bright Yellow (BY), Black (BK), and Tan (TN).
• Interior Dimensions: 2 1/8" diameter.
• Exterior Dimensions: 3 1/2" diameter.
• Thickness: 11/16".
• 48" sticks.

For playground equipment with 90 degree corners or long straight stretches, we sell 54 inch long sticks of lab tested fire resistant padding that is non-toxic and is 2 3/8 inches by 2 3/8 inches. The more popular colors are the brown hearth guard, the taupe hearth guard,, and the black hearth guard . We also sell gray and ivory. If you need corners, we sell those individually or in combination with sticks. For outside use, Liquid Nails or a similar adhesive works best.

Please send us photos of equipment and dimensions so we can assist in your safety proofing. Thanks for your question.

Sincerely, Barbara