Childproofing – on the playground

When I was young, the playground was a fun but dangerous place to play. Some wise person had the idea to line the ground of the playground with tiny orange pieces of gravel … they clearly cushion falls more than say – grass. Everyone at some point in time would come home with terrible injury as a result of sliding on that gravel. As I grew out of playgrounds I noticed that they became lined with woodchips, and then later on little pieces of rubber. I think they value children more now than they did when I was young. I came across this safe playground in Japan that really takes the cake when it comes to childproofing.

"First-time visitors must provide proof of identification before they enter the indoor, air-conditioned premises . . . Shoes must be removed at the door -- they carry germs -- and the wheels of baby-buggies are sprayed with an antibacterial solution before being parked in neat rows, just inside the entrance . . . [there are] about 20 staff dressed in bright yellow overalls and more than a dozen security cameras mounted on the ceiling. Although pets are banned from the playground, its large sandpit contains sterilized sand which is sifted daily to remove any potentially harmful objects. Most of the bigger toys are inflatable to reduce the risk of injury."