Risky business – public play centres

Children need much stimulation, and encouraging young charges to engage in activities other than gaming and YouTube can be challenging.

That’s where trampoline parks, soft play, climbing walls and the like come into play (pardon the pun). This recent article in Cymru Online, however, underlines the fact that these activities do not come risk free and care should be taken when choosing an activity or a location in which to participate.

We’ve all heard the stories of older generations: “It’s health and safety gone mad”, “You didn’t have this health and safety nonsense in my day” or “I used to play on the train tracks and jump off buildings and it never did me any harm” (well maybe not the last one, but you get the idea!)

Certainly, we are now more aware of risk and of ways to prevent accidents occurring and activities like trampolining always involves some danger. Avoiding all risk as a child, however, is probably not wise. Such challenges help develop a personality and create resilience.

So – how to strike a balance? There are certain factors that a parent or carer can look out for. In the example of a trampoline park look at the general maintenance and attitude of staff.

If you walk into a trampoline park that has rubbish strewn around and fraying or dilapidated equipment, then chances are it has not been maintained properly and items could break or fall off while jumping for example. Similarly, you could walk into the most pristine trampoline park in the world but if staff are not engaged, then the danger of injury increases.

Also bear in mind that parental supervision is always not only wise, but usually required. Don’t make the mistake of viewing staff as being ultimately responsible for children’s safety.

Overall, such places can be fun and stimulating but always make sure that whatever risks can be managed are dealt with properly. No such activity comes without any danger, but careful consideration can mitigate a lot of those dangers and also hopefully ensures a good night’s sleep and tired limbs!

Further reading

Accidents in public places – Oakwood Solicitors

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