CHAPTER 6: SITE DESIGN
can result in injuries when one child unexpectedly jumps off of it), or spring
6.6 Play Yards for Different
toys (which can severly harm a child as he or she walks by the relatively
heavy, moving toy).
Age Groups
Small berms and hills, large rocks, stumps, trees or bushes provide settings
and obstacles for children to climb over, jump on, dodge around, or hide
6.6.1 Infant Outdoor Play Areas:
behind. All of these present desirable challenges. Playing with wheeled
Play areas for infants require special design considerations. Separate
toys, such as tricycles and wagons, helps to develop coordination and
spaces for infants should be near toddler play areas, providing visual and
physical strength. The large space required for these activities and the
audible connections and limited physical contact. Ideally, infant play areas
boisterous character of this play dictate that this area be situated away
should be exposed to the natural environment, though shielded from the
from quieter ones. Because local licensing has a wide range of interpretation
extremes of wind and sun.
of appropriate play yard design, obtaining their "buy-in" to the design concept
as soon as possible is very important.
Infant play area surfaces should consist of soft, resilient materials that
protect crawling children and provide a comfortable surface on which they
Play areas should be made accessible to children with disabilities. The
can sit. Soft surfaces should have different textures and (not garish) colors
proposed rules are quite complex and the designer should consult with
denoting changes in activities and challenges. Developmentally appropriate
playground equipment manufacturers and refer to the web site:
challenges should be situated within bounded areas or behind slight barriers
www.access-board.gov/
requiring mastery before the child may venture into the next area. These
challenges could take the form of crawling spaces with slight inclines or
To provide a safe environment that still allows gross motor activity, the
undulations, low, easy to cross barriers or berms, pull up bars, and low
movement of the children themselves rather than equipment is key. In
platforms and slides. There must be some surface that is hard enough to
addition, the following elements are not to be used in GSA play yards as
allow the use of wheeled and push toys.
they have been found to be unsafe in the group care setting:
Metal slides
6.6.2 Toddler Outdoor Play Areas:
Enclosed tunnel slides
Toddlers should have play areas for walking, jumping, climbing, running,
Traditional seesaws
drawing, painting, block play, group play, sorting, and exploring. The toddler
Spring mounted, rocking toys with very heavy animal seats which can
play environment should allow for a wide range of movement and stimulate
strike a child (There are acceptable, lighter weight rocking toy alterna-
the senses through the novelty and variety of challenges. Simple, versatile
tives).
climbing equipment is more appropriate for toddlers than scaled down
Swings, other than tire swings
versions of older children's play structures. Toddlers crave and enjoy semi-
enclosed spaces such as small play houses or climb-through tunnels. Other
favorite play equipment for toddlers includes small slides. Toddlers seek
out experiences with motion or movement. All play structures in toddler
areas must be surrounded by a resilient surface. A variety of surfaces and
materials should be provided including sand and dirt, pavement, and open
grassy areas where toddlers can use an abundance of play objects. When
combined with toys, sand becomes a major resource for toddler play.
There must be hard surface areas and paths that support wheeled toy
play. All sand areas require fitted water-permeable covers to deter rodents
and other pests.
PBS-140 - July 2003
6-6
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