Safe at play

We all know that play is an important part of a child's development and it's great to see your little ones running around and playing free. It can be hard though to not feel anxious, worried that they are going to fall and hurt themselves - and I know how protective I am when Ethan is out and about.

* Collaborative post

Scraped knees and bruises are part and parcel of being a preschooler, and Ethan seems to have quite the collection. Boys, eh?! He doesn't seem to mind or notice though and I think of it just being a sign of how much fun he is having at this age. And boy, is he!

His new preschool building has been updated and has a bigger garden with different areas to play in, and inside it's bright and colourful too. Just like the local playgrounds we take him to, with their wet pour playground surfacing, we know that when he is playing with his friends, he is having a great time and has soft nursery surfaces around him so that he can't do himself too much mischief.

When nurseries, schools and playgrounds consider the flooring they install, safety is of course paramount, making sure that they comply with safety regulations and Critical Fall Height (CFH) guidance. But of course, the look of the floor is also really important in these environments too, as they want to be bright and welcoming for little ones. Just think of all the places you have been where the floor has been a big part of the design; shopping centres and toy shops, theme parks, soft play centres, schools... the list is endless and quite often, educational and fun graphics are printed on the flooring to bring the whole scheme together.

These are all things that as parents, or visitors, we probably don't consciously notice but they do make a big difference. Fun playground surfaces bring the space to life and help to make our children's imaginations run wild and on some level, seeing this safety flooring in place does work to give us peace of mind whilst we watch them play.

When we were looking at nurseries a few years ago for Ethan, and more recently schools, it was great to see EYSF play area surfaces in place to transform an otherwise plain playground into somewhere adventure can certainly take place. Ethan's new school has rubber mulch and grass matting areas, defining different areas of play, and when we visited last week for his induction, he had great fun exploring and climbing and jumping off all the different playground features - and it was so nice to see him have fun, in such a vibrant, engaging (and safe) environment.

He's going to love school. Particularly play time!