Equipment, materials, furnishings, and play areas should be sturdy, safe, in good repair, and meet the recommendations of the CPSC. Programs should attend to, including, but not limited to, the following safety hazards:
a) Openings that could entrap a child's head or limbs;
b) Elevated surfaces that are inadequately guarded;
c) Lack of specified surfacing and fall zones under and around climbable equipment;
d) Mismatched size and design of equipment for the intended users;
e) Insufficient spacing between equipment;
f) Tripping hazards;
g) Components that can pinch, sheer, or crush body tissues;
h) Equipment that is known to be of a hazardous type;
i) Sharp points or corners;
j) Splinters;
k) Protruding nails, bolts, or other parts that could entangle clothing or snag skin;
l) Loose, rusty parts;
m) Hazardous small parts that may become detached during normal use or reasonably foreseeable abuse of the equipment and that present a choking, aspiration, or ingestion hazard to a child;
n) Strangulation hazards (e.g., straps, strings, etc.);
o) Flaking paint;
p) Paint that contains lead or other hazardous materials; and
q) Tip-over hazards, such as chests, bookshelves, and televisions.
Plastic bags that are large enough to pose a suffocation risk as well as matches, candles, and lighters should not be accessible to children.
Last Updated: September 29, 2022