How to Become a Certified Playground Safety Inspector

The National Recreation and Parks Association has led the way toward safer playgrounds for the last two decades. In 1993, the association established the National Playground Safety Institute and soon thereafter began offering certification programs for parks and recreation professionals.

The "CPSI Candidate Handbook" establishes a code of professional conduct for inspectors and lists the course's main objectives:

• Identify hazards on public playground equipment and the playground.

• Rank the hazards according to injury potential.

• Apply the knowledge to remove the hazards and establish a system of inspections.

The organization has "a long-term goal of training and certifying at least one person from every community in the United States to be a CPSI," according to the NRPA website. "These inspectors will share their knowledge on the public-use playground standard of care with other people involved in playground operations within their agencies and throughout their community."

Training involves an optional two-day prep-course on information covered in the certification exam, which takes place on the third day and final day of the course schedule. Computer-based exams are also available.

Training centers are located in every region of the United States and offer sessions periodically throughout the year. There are no prerequisites to attending the course and taking the exam, and the examination fee is $200. Certification must be renewed every three years.

Test questions come from the following sources:

• The Consumer Product Safety Commission Handbook for Public Playground Safety

• The Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use (ASTM F1487-07)

• Standard Guide for ASTM Standards on Playground Surfacing (ASTM 2333-04)

• Playground Safety Is No Accident, 4th Edition

The first step toward CPSI status is to visit the NRPA's website and fill out the application.

Tips for Safe Play Indoors

Outdoor playgrounds are of course a key area of focus when it comes to safety as well as educational and entertainment value, however indoor play areas also deserve a similar level of attention. Sometimes what appears to be the most obvious of common sense solutions -- keeping the floor clear so people won't trip -- often gets overlooked in the fray of everyday school or family life. A recent article by Daniel Akinson points out the fact that a leading cause of injuries that happen inside the house or classroom result from toys not being picked up. "One specific danger and one that is usually ignored are all the kids’ toys that have not been picked up," the article states. "This can definitely be a hazard if the living area is doubling as a play area." The magazine provides the following advice on how to prevent accidents that can lead to minor or at times serious injuries: • "Designate a particular area of the room in which the kids should play...

International Efforts to Build Safe Playgrounds in War Zones

It would be hard to find a rational person who would disagree with the idea that children all over the world should have safe places to play. Organizations such as UNICEF and The Playground Builders Foundation have worked to provide children in war-torn nations with safe, accessible playgrounds. Playground Builders, a Canadian nonprofit charity, has established a business "model [that] involves the use of a generic playground design and local construction, based on a competitive value bid system," according to the organization's website. "This simplified process ensures many playgrounds throughout conflict areas can be built effectively and efficiently. These special places provide safe spaces for laughter, hope and interaction for war-entrapped children in unstable and poverty-stricken areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories." UNICEF's common practice is to build or rebuild schools and playgrounds in places ravaged by warfare....

Thinking "Green"

Environmentally friendly playgrounds are becoming increasingly popular and prominent. As the "green" label has become a standard line in marketing throughout all kinds of business sectors, the same is evident among playground equipment manufacturers. A few examples of more sustainable playground elements include recycled tires in safety surfacing, recycled plastic benches and playground equipment recycling programs. Another common practice in recent years has been replacing asphalt surfaces with grass and natural surroundings. "There are plenty of new opportunities to transform decaying asphalt playgrounds or vacant lots into natural play areas," Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” wrote in a 2007 New York Times opinion article. "Researchers at the University of Illinois, exploring people’s relationship to nature, have discovered that green outdoor spaces relieve the symptoms of attention defic...

Wyatt Underwood on "The Safe Child Campaign"

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