Play is not just a leisure activity for children – it is also an essential element in the development of their personalities. It is through play that they acquire not just selfesteem and self-reliance, but also a sense of community and the skills they need to cope with conflict situations. Children take an innate pleasure in play and are naturally inquisitive; at the same time they are spontaneous and thus, on occasion, unpredictable. It is thus impossible and even undesirable to protect them from all unpleasant or painful experiences. A healthy awareness of potential danger is perhaps one of the best forms of safeguard. But this is the fundamental problem. When planning and constructing
playgrounds and outdoor play areas, one of the main objectives is to make these as diverse and interesting for the children as possible while, at the same time, making sufficient provisions to ensure the safety of the users.Parents rapidly tend to level criticism at what they consider to be ‘boring’ play facilities. And yet, if an accident occurs, they are the first to inquire whether the amenity has been constructed in compliance with all safetyrelevant regulations.
Standard DIN 18034 is intended to provide a guideline to the construction of exciting but safe play areas. The first edition of the standard was published in 1971 under the title “Playgrounds for residential estates – play areas and equipment for outdoor play – planning guidance”. Standard DIN 18034 has been modified several times over the years and this publication represents the result of the latest revision. The Consumer Council of DIN actively participated in the work to overhaul the standard. The new, up-dated version of the standard was published in September 2012. The standard has been designed to help with the planning, construction and operation of playgrounds and outdoor play areas. It takes into account the very latest approaches with regard to planning and educational play and concepts of spatial requirements. It recommends use of sites close to nature, urban spaces that can be explored and customized, areas providing for interaction during play and sport, facilities that encourage users to exercise and outdoor areas that provide a high quality of play options. Specific safety regulations for the equipment and other installations are not provided in the standard. They can be found in separate standards to which reference is made at the appropriate points in DIN 18034. This standard only deals with generalized safety requirements for playgrounds and outdoor play areas. The basic assumption is that children need to learn how to assess potential risks themselves so that they can act appropriately. The standard also defines requirements for access by the disabled. The relevant legal stipulations are based on the provisions of the German constitution, equal opportunities legislation and state building regulations.
Standard DIN 18034 sets out the conditions and recommendations for the planning, construction and operation of playgrounds and outdoor play areas. It also applies to outdoor play areas that are used for other purposes, and are only partly or temporarily available for the purposes of play. These include, for example, free spaces in residential areas, in child day-care facilities, sports grounds, open-air swimming pools, public green sites and school premises. The standard can also be used to evaluate the child-friendliness of a particular facility. Additional regulations apply to outdoor play areas associated with child day-care facilities and schools, for example, with regard to the necessary provision of the legally required accident insurance cover. Although standard DIN 18034 does not actually apply to playgrounds under direct supervision by teachers, its recommendations and guidelines can be appropriately adapted for use with these.
In comparison with the previous version issued in December 1999, compliance with requirements, specifically with regard to planning, safety and maintenance, has been made more compulsory. In addition, there is a section dealing with the involvement of the users in the planning. The new edition is supplemented with further guidelines relating to environmental aspects and on what constitutes good play quality, while the need for nature- integrated play is more emphasized, recommendations for the provisions of disabled access are extended, aspects of preventive health protection and guidelines for the use of ground water and the water supply are outlined and the requirements concerning ease of access and spatial provisions are specified in greater detail.
The standard can be ordered from Beuth Verlag, 10772 Berlin;
Tel.: 0302601-2260;
website: www.beuth.de
For more information contact: Andreas Zause, Am DIN-Platz,
Burggrafenstr. 6, D-10787 Berlin
Image: SIK-Holz
Children and youngsters rushing here and there, screams of pleasure, high spirits and laughter ‒ as soon as a trampoline park opens its gates, it takes no time at all until the visitors arrive.
Fall protection surfaces vary in terms of cost, minimum installation thickness and cleaning and care requirements. It should be noted that the most important property of these surfaces is the safety-related shock absorption. This is the surface's ability to reduce the impact energy that occurs when a child falls from a piece of play equipment. It prevents a critical, even life-threatening, injury.
