Playgrounds and psychomotor courses are recreational spaces where children have fun and parents enjoy moments outdoors; they are places where children can learn to socialize, do physical exercise, and cognitive development, an integral and fundamental part of formal education. Share in these spaces is much more than just sunbathing for a while and watching children run and play. It is the moment where the little ones learn to accept ideas and creations from others. They know to follow game rules created by themselves to strengthen their body and develop physical strength.
Bellow, we share with you some quality standards that psychomotor courses should have:
Psychomotor courses
As an annex of great value, we find the psychomotor courses that allow us to add extra value to the playground. This structure will enable children in motor development to practice without being in danger of accidents or minimizing them. These structures are designed exclusively to promote psychomotor skills, balance, among other benefits. But as it is part of the playground, the designer must take some points into account to prevent and take care of children.
Physical space to be occupied
We must consider the place where we will place the equipment to ensure accessibility, separation by age if it is the case, and easy supervision of the design of the playground; the psychomotor courses must be in a suitable area so that all the modules can be installed, can be used sequentially, and allow many children to use them without saturating these spaces.
Ground surface
When installing a psychomotor course, the floor surface is very important because, in this type of annexes of our playground, we will have small and not so small children who are improving their motor and coordination skills. These factors can cause them to lose control at some point in the game and fall to the ground. This is normal, but care must be taken to ensure that the installation of suitable surfaces reduces the impact and potential injuries that these falls can cause.
The most common surfaces are gravel, sand, crushed rubber, and wood chips. When installing any character, the main thing is to consider the height of the equipment and the possibility of accidents, which will lead us to think about the depth we should give to the surface. This depth will reduce the impact and protect the body of children when they fall to the ground. For installing the floor surface, we must consider the weather; if it rains a lot or there is snow, these factors are critical when installing a specific type of surface.
Maintenance of playgrounds and Psychomotor courses
Technology has changed and has allowed having much more durable playgrounds with a low maintenance cost; in many instances, we must pay attention, they are the cause of accidents and injuries suffered by children while playing. In playgrounds, sometimes screws loosen, or the plastics that make up the modules can suffer cracks; because of this, playgrounds must have a minimum of care to guarantee the health of children at all times since, in many cases, children do not measure the dangers that may exist when they are playing.
What is your opinion on this topic? How about adding a psychomotor course to a playground in your community or school?
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Image from Westplay
