What is already known on this topic

• Given the predominant outdoor lifestyle of many Australians, public playgrounds play an integral role in the lives of most families.
• There is a considerable number of young children hospitalized annually due to unintentional injuries sustained at local playgrounds.
• Injuries to the shoulder and upper arms are most common for 0–4-year-olds.

What this paper adds

• This study builds on the limited existing body of literature on parents’/carers’ perspectives of recreational participation amongst toddlers attending community playgroups.
• An examination of parents/carers perceptions of safety for toddlers (0-2 years) was conducted at local public playgrounds in a regional area of Australia.

The result of this study provides useful and unique insights about parental safety-related experiences when facilitating recreation for their young children and shines a light on the need for improving playground designs to better cater for the needs of all children.

Playgrounds have been around for some time. These may not have been particularly well designed or constructed, but wherever there was a tree to climb or a creek to play in there was an impromptu playground. The Ithaca playground at Red Hill, Australia is a classic example of what play space was like before the turn of the century. The 1918 photo identified in Figure 1 shows a swing set and see-saw made of a wooden plank [1]. It was reported that at this time, playgrounds evolved from sets of simple individual pieces of equipment that may have been grouped, but which were not usually linked, together in any meaningful way [2].

Figure 1: Children in the playground at Ithaca in Red Hill in 1918.

Source: Queensland State Library.

Australian Playground Standards and Australian Safety Standards

The current standard in Australia for playground equipment, AS 4685:2021, was introduced in 2004 and updated in 2021 and is closely aligned with the European Standard. In April 2022, Australian Standards released a new warning on playground safety, highlighting accidents as the leading cause of death for Australian children under 16 years of age. This report also noted that playground fall injuries of children were more likely to be admitted to hospital than those who suffered injuries at home or during sporting activities [3].

Playground Equipment – It’s A Risky Business.

Given the predominant outdoor lifestyle of many Australians, it is not surprising that public playgrounds play an integral role in the lives of young children and parents. Unfortunately, playgrounds also pose a significant risk of injury [4,5]. In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a comprehensive report on child injury prevention [6]. According to this report, over 2000 children die in accidental injuries each year [7]. A further report states that playgrounds are one of the places that contribute to most unintentional child injuries in the developed world [8]. In Australia, between 2010 and 2014, there were 7795 hospitalisations for fall-related injuries from playground equipment [9]. Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm were most common for 0–4-year-olds [9]. An earlier study indicated that up to the age of 4 years, playground falls accounted for more than a quarter of forearm fractures (27%), with 38% being falls from monkey-bars [10]. Despite millions of dollars being spent on public playgrounds in Australia, with designs and equipment meant to surpass the playgrounds of yesteryear and marking the evolution of the built environment for the sake of child’s play, playgrounds remain dangerous. Thus, this project sought to raise the question: Are public playgrounds really any better today than before?.

A small community playgroup of 12 carers raising toddlers (0-2 years) in a regional area of Queensland and which operates on a weekly basis under the leadership of a volunteer caregiver, was approached to participate in this project. It has been suggested that for small projects 6-10 participants are sufficient [11]. Parents and carers provided written informed consent. All adults involved in this playgroup agreed to complete an anonymous survey which sought their views and opinions about taking their toddler to local playgrounds in their community. To ensure confidentiality, following consent, a copy of the questionnaire was sent online to the lead volunteer caregiver who printed out and distributed the document to each of the 12-community playgroup participants.

Data were collected using a purposefully designed hard copy survey which will be referred to as the questionnaire. The questionnaire offered a combination of Likert scale (closed) demographic questions and open-ended questions about carers’ public playground experiences. Open-ended questions allowed respondents to answer in their own words, permitting more detail and diversity of the data. Participants retained their anonymity as no identifying information was sought. Once the questionnaires were completed, the volunteer playgroup leader posted the handwritten completed questionnaires to the first author for analysis.

Participants

Twelve caregivers (5 mothers, 4 fathers; 2 grandparents and 1 x nanny) of children aged 0-2 years participated in the study. Most parents were aged between 35-44 years (n=6; 50%) with 25% (n=3) aged between 25–44 years (25 %). The carers (2 x grandparents and 1 x nanny) were aged 55-64. Most parents (n=7) had completed a university degree (i.e., medicine, pathology, architecture, engineering). Two parents had trained as chefs. The children (3 boys and 3 girls) (n = 12) were aged 18 - 24 months old. In 10 families, the toddler was their first and only child. Two participants were also parents of a newborn baby. One mother was pregnant, while two participants were parenting three children (a toddler of 18 months, and a 3- and 6-year-old).

Setting

The 12 respondents of this project resided in the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The traditional owners of this land are the Kabi Kabi and Joondoburri people and the area was known as Yarun or Yirin which means 'Hunting Ground’. In all cases, the public playgrounds used by this playgroup were within 5 kilometres of their residences.

Ethics Approval

The ethical approval for this study was granted by the Macquarie University Australia HREC Reference No: 520231294146654. The survey was designed to ensure participant anonymity and the participant information consent form explicitly informed participants that their responses would be kept confidential and anonymous. Participants were also clearly informed that their participation in this study was voluntary, and that they had the option to withdraw at any time, without having to give a reason and without facing any consequences. Written participant consent was obtained to publish anonymised child photographs (Figures 2 and 3).

Closed ended questions were gathered from the participants to compare and analyse general demographic details. Simple descriptive analytics were used on responses to the closed questions to give an overall view of the participants, their family composition, and the setting.

User Perception of Suitability of Public Playground Facilities for Toddlers

Notwithstanding the many accolades about public parks and playgrounds in this beach side region that can be found on the internet, the participants of this study were ambivalent about the appropriateness of the public facilities for their toddlers. When asked to nominate if they were satisfied with their community’s playground offerings for their child, the five male carers [fathers (n= 4) and grandfather (n=1)] agreed. In contrast, all seven females (mothers, grandmother, and nanny) disagreed. When selecting a reason why they answered the question in that way, 10 participants (83%) selected the same closed response option:

The facility and its offerings were not appropriate for my child (e.g., no adaptions were made for a young child, or the equipment was not appropriate for young children).

Toddler Preferred Playground Equipment

Table 1 reports on the type of recreational facilities or playground activities that the toddlers were reported to prefer to engage with. Results indicate that the two most popular activities were the slippery slide and the swings. Both activities require adult supervision or assistance.

Table 1: Playground activity most liked by Toddler.

User Perspective of Toddler Experience at Playground

Participants were asked to comment on their toddler’s active participation with the playground’s offerings. Comments indicated that these toddlers were just as happy (if not happier) to sit with their parent or to be held by their parent – rather than engage with the playground equipment.

I take her for a walk around the park. She watches her older brothers, but she does not want to go with them to the equipment unless there is no one else at the park, which is rare (Case no 12).

She will run about the park (near me, near the bench) but she is careful to keep away from the play equipment. She plays with her toys on the bench (Case 4).

User Perspective of Adult Experience of Taking Toddler to Playground

A content analysis of the comments from the adults’ experiences of taking their child to a playground revealed four main themes. These included: Toddler vulnerability at playgrounds; Carer experience, child experience, and the importance of playground safety.

Toddler Vulnerability at Playgrounds

Participants raised the issue of the suitability of the equipment for toddlers at public playgrounds. In many instances, participants indicated the need for close adult supervision.

We have witnessed young children fall off the play equipment due to limited safety measures in place therefore we always stay close with our child at the playground (Case 7).

I have to accompany my child on the high sections as she could potentially fall through the gap (Case 4).

Participant’s comments referred to their child’s safety and doing their best to avoid possible accidents, an issue that is well regarded in the literature [12,13]. When describing their playground experience, these participants used emotive terms such as worry, anxiety, and frustration. As a result, the appeal of toddler play at public playgrounds appears to be centred upon the concept of calculated risk.

Child Experience of Attending a Public Playground

When invited to describe their child’s play experience, participants commented on the inappropriate design of playground equipment for toddlers. Refer Figure 2 and comments below.

Most of the community playgrounds have generic play equipment which is more tailored for older children (Case 7).

Some play places have open spaces, and a toddler could just walk off a 10-foot drop! (Case 12).

Several carers mentioned the impact of the weather on reduced ability to go to the park or to use equipment because of the heat, cold or rain or the poor state of the equipment. Sample comments are below.

Everything is made of metal and with the heat, those slippery slides get hot. Even the rubber swing seat gets hot (Case 12).

Figure 2: Fireman’s pole with one metre leap out, three metres high and no safety gate.

Playgrounds should have more maintenance than they currently do (i.e., broken bolts or plastic bits pulled off by other kids) can make it unsafe. To be cleaned occasionally would be great too (Case 3).

Fifty percent of the carers in this project identified in their written responses that their toddler only every played on two pieces of equipment (i.e., the slippery slide and the baby swing). Limited pieces of age-appropriate play equipment were also mentioned. One participant went on to describe their toddler’s frustration over too few pieces of accessible play equipment.

There is only…. one baby suitable swing being occupied (This age group don’t understand having to wait!) (Case 9).

Clearly not all playgrounds are safe for toddlers. The issue of the relationship between playground equipment and paediatric upper limb fractures has been investigated in other studies [14]. Participants in the current project commented that play equipment was commonly designed for older children who have better motor co-ordination and who were less likely to fall. Refer Figure 3 and parent comment below:

Playgrounds look great but in almost all cases, they are designed to take the kids up off the ground. That means that there are steps. Well right now, my daughter’s legs are too short for the steps and her hands are too small for the handrails (Case 12).

Figure 3: Stair rises too high for toddler lower limbs.

The Importance of Safe Outdoor Spaces for Toddlers

Time and time again, comments were made about the inadequacy of public playground design for small children versus what was needed from the perspective of parents/carers who are raising toddlers and making a conscious effort to promote their safe recreation experiences. Sample comments can be found below.

High rails on the slippery slides. My daughter has caught her legs under herself on the slippery slide and almost fallen off (Case 12).

Railings at a suitable height. Soft landing flooring not consisting of bark (Case 9).

Free, safe, and open spaces that allow very small children to participate (Case 5).

Designing a Dream Playground for Toddlers

Participants were invited to offer their thoughts on what their dream playground for their toddler would look like. When asked to design a dream playground, three themes emerged: (1) a separate play area that would provide safety for a toddler; (2) a playground that meets the needs of toddler play skill development; and (3) a toddler playground that is weatherproof. Further discussion and sample participant comments identifying their toddler dream playground requirements per theme will be addressed in a follow up article.

The findings of this study highlight how parents/carers experienced wide-ranging safety concerns related to their toddlers’ special interests, risky behaviours, and the presence of hazards prominent in public playgrounds. The parents/carers of this community play group feared recreational participation could place their toddler in harm’s way due to their limited size, limited upper body strength, limited motor co-ordination and physical challenges as well as the environmental hazards present in public outdoor play areas. Clearly aware of the many hazards and risks present in their local community playgrounds, when given the opportunity, the participants of this study expressed a range of solutions to mitigate their concerns.

Inclusive Design Requirements - Designing Playgrounds for All

There is no question that ensuring access for everyone in a playground through inclusive design presents challenges. Other groups of children currently being studied who face a similar scenario to toddlers and their families in playgrounds are autistic children and children with vision impairment [15,16]. Playgrounds become critical developmental and social locations for all children, and this should be recognised and evident in design approaches. However, despite the Australian Government acknowledging that access to playgrounds should be universal, barriers to participation are well known [17]. The barriers faced by toddlers have been identified in this paper, and are surprisingly similar to those identified for children with disability including possible safety risks, a lack of accessible resources, and a lack of opportunities for risky play, and a lack of sensory play experiences [18-20].

Limitations

To reduce biases, promote social justice and health equity, and to produce more innovative science, it is essential to have a wide range of people from different communities participate in clinical trials [21]. Having four fathers and a grandfather participate in the current study, offered a strong gender equality perspective. Further, fifty percent of the participants were Caucasian, three parents had an East Asian cultural background, and three parents were of European family heritage. Nonetheless, future research encompassing participants with a greater cultural and ethnic diversity including First Nation caregivers would be valuable.

Each year, more than 200,000 children are treated in Australian hospital emergency rooms for playground-related injuries [22]. This study represents a family centred voice reflecting parents/carers perspectives and concerns for safety at public playgrounds. So, let us return to the original question: Are public playgrounds really any better today than before? Based on the results of this project, public playgrounds can be safe for toddlers, but only if the children are supervised and only if there is equipment that is suitable for their age and development stage. The outcome of this study offers a new understanding of carers’ perspectives and their unique safety concerns surrounding recreational participation for toddlers. Practical strategies for addressing these needs that can be implemented at community and recreation program levels have been suggested. The findings from this study provide an important foundation for future policy development and safe playground designs to support families and to enable very young children to engage in safe recreation and sport in their communities.

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