Playground Safety Rules for Kids to Learn Before Recess

Recess is the most physical part of the school day and the hardest to watch closely, as anyone who has done yard duty already knows. The good news is that playground safety for young children comes down to a short list of rules they can actually repeat, plus a few checks that belong to adults and never to the child.

This guide splits the two cleanly. It is general teaching and parenting information, not medical advice. If a child is hurt, the call belongs with the school nurse, a pediatrician, or 911.

Why teach playground safety rules at all?

Because falls are common, most injuries are preventable, and children who know the rules get hurt less.

Emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children for playground-related injuries each year, a Consumer Product Safety Commission figure cited in the American Academy of Pediatrics' playground safety guidance. Most happen when a child falls from equipment onto the ground. The same page adds that researchers link lack of supervision to nearly half of playground-related injuries.

Nemours KidsHealth makes the teaching case directly in its playground safety guide for parents: if children know the rules of the playground, they are less likely to get hurt. That is the whole reason to teach them indoors, before anyone is excited and running.

What playground safety rules should kids know?

Five, short enough that a four year old can say them back.

Our Playground Safety chart uses these five, each drawn as a scene a child can recognize:

1. Take turns and share. No pushing, no cutting the line, no two children on one swing.
2. Hold on tight. Two hands on the bars, the ladder rails and the swing chains.
3. Look before you jump. Check that nobody is below you before you jump off or slide down, and land on both feet.
4. Go down the slide feet first. Sitting up, one child at a time.
5. Play on dry equipment. Sunshine means playtime; rain means wait until it dries.

Every one of them traces back to published guidance. KidsHealth tells children never to push or roughhouse on jungle gyms, slides, seesaws and swings, to always check that no other kids are in the way before jumping or sliding, and never to use playground equipment that is wet, because moisture makes the surfaces slippery. The AAP says to teach children to go down the slide feet first to avoid head injuries.

A rule works for young children when it describes something they do rather than something they must avoid. "Hold on tight" is easier to follow than "don't fall."

What are the swing and slide rules?

Swings and slides get their own rules because they are where the moving parts are.

KidsHealth calls swings the most common source of childhood injuries from moving equipment on a playground. Its swing rules for children:

• Sit in the swing. Do not stand or kneel.
• Hold on tightly with both hands while swinging.
• Stop the swing completely before getting off.
• Never run or walk in front of or behind a moving swing.
• One child per swing.

The AAP adds two worth saying out loud: discourage children from swinging on their tummies or jumping off, and teach them not to run in front of swings while other children are using them.

For slides, the AAP's list is short: feet first, and make sure anyone in front of you is all the way down before you go. KidsHealth adds that children should climb the ladder one step at a time holding the handrail, and should not climb up the sliding board itself.

One rule is for grown-ups. The AAP says not to go down the slide with a child on your lap: it might seem safe while you are holding them, but research shows children's legs often get caught and injured on the way down.

What should kids take off before they play?

Anything that can catch on equipment. This one is short and it matters.

The AAP says to avoid sweatshirts with drawstrings and necklaces, to keep jump ropes and pet leashes away from equipment, and that a child who rode a bike or scooter to the playground should take off the helmet while playing. KidsHealth agrees on all three and adds bags: leave bikes, backpacks and bags away from the equipment so nobody trips over them.

Make it a routine at the classroom door: hood strings tucked or out, bags on hooks, helmets off. A child who takes off a helmet at the playground fence has not broken the bike rule; the two rules are for different places, and it is worth saying so, because children notice the contradiction.

Which parts stay the adult's job?

Surfacing, equipment and watching. No chart on the wall replaces any of them.

The last row is the one worth underlining. The AAP closes its own guidance by saying that even on a safe, age-appropriate playground, adult guidance and supervision is the best way to prevent injuries. A child who knows every rule still needs someone watching, because young children, as KidsHealth puts it, cannot always judge distance and may not expect dangerous situations.

How do you teach the rules before the first recess?

Indoors, in five minutes, with the chart and a walk-through.

• Show the chart first. Point at each scene and have children say the rule back. Five rules, one pass, no more.
• Act out the hard ones. Line up for an imaginary slide. Practice holding on with two hands. Walk the wide way around a pretend swing. Physical practice sticks better than listening.
• Walk the real playground once. At the first recess, stop at the slide, the swings and the climber, and ask which rule goes with each.
• Reuse the words. When a rule is broken, name it the way the chart does: "Look before you jump." Children follow a phrase they already know far faster than a new explanation.
• Revisit after breaks. A quick recap after winter break and again in spring, when the playground gets busy.

For younger classes, a picture book about taking turns is a good lead-in before the walk-through. The Boo-Boo Helpers chart belongs in the same lesson, because the most useful thing a child can learn about getting hurt is what to do next.

What should a child do when someone gets hurt?

Stop, stay with them, and tell a grown-up. That is the child's whole job.

KidsHealth points out that one reason supervision matters is that when an injury does happen, an adult can help the child and give first aid right away. So the rule for children is not about first aid at all. It is about getting the adult. Our Boo-Boo Helpers chart puts it in one line, "Always tell a grown-up," and the When to Tell a Trusted Adult or See the Nurse chart covers the signs that mean a child should go to the nurse, such as a headache, dizziness or a cut.

Bumped heads are the injury parents ask about most, and the AAP's guidance on head injuries in children is clear on the adult side: almost all children bump their heads, most head injuries are minor, and for anything more than a light bump you should call your child's doctor. If a child loses consciousness, call 911. Leave the judgment to the adult and the nurse; the child only needs to know to tell someone.

After recess, the routine is hands washed before snack or lunch, which is where the Germ Awareness chart earns its spot above the classroom sink.

What changes for a backyard swing set or the park?

The children's rules stay the same. The adult's checklist gets a little longer, because at home you are the one who installed the equipment.

The AAP's safety tips for home playground equipment include:

• Choose a set labeled as meeting safety standard ASTM F1148.
• Keep loose-fill surfacing such as shredded rubber, sand, wood chips or bark at a depth of at least 9 inches, extending at least 6 feet in all directions, and farther for swings and slides.
• Install the equipment at least 6 feet from fences or walls, on level ground, firmly anchored.
• Cap screws and bolts, and check regularly for loose, rusty or sharp parts.
• Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines or pet leashes to the equipment.

Note the difference in depth: the home guidance says at least 9 inches of loose fill, while the public playground guidance the AAP cites from the CPSC says 12 or more. At a park, glance at the surface under the tallest piece before your child climbs it.

For homeschool families, the smaller 8.5 by 11 inch Playground Safety chart fits beside the back door, which is exactly where a child is when they are about to need it.

Where should the playground rules chart go?

By the door children use to go out, at their eye height, not in the hallway display case.

A rules chart does its job in the ten seconds before a child goes outside. Hang it where they line up, low enough that a kindergartner reads it straight on. Our guide to setting up a safety corner covers mounting heights and which charts sit where, and safety corner vs. calming corner explains why that corner is a different job from a calm down space.

If you are building the full wall at once, the Classroom Safety Charts 10 Pack includes Playground Safety alongside Stranger Safety, Fire Safety, Water Safety, Germ Awareness, Boo-Boo Helpers, the nurse chart and Healthy Eating, plus a Safety Corner banner. For the rest of the safety topics, see how to teach kids personal safety and fire safety for kids, or browse the full safety corner collection.