Can Children Get Hurt During Soft Play?

This is something that many parents worry about, they see children running around and having fun on all manner of obstacles and it is only natural to fear slightly for the wellbeing of your child in what is a whole new environment for them. Soft play centres do have their own risks but as with most activities, the risks can be mitigated against.

Injuries that have been sustained in soft play centres are for the most part relatively minor scrapes and bruises. These are the kind of injuries that are to be expected when children are running around and climbing, and it is worth noting that most children will walk away from this kind of injury with nothing more than maybe a sticking plaster and a few tears.

In many cases the injured party will then happily go back to rejoin their friends or siblings in the play area. Indeed, they may even resent the time that is taken to care for their injury as they are being prevented from playing while it is examined!

Staying Safe

There have been some more serious accidents in soft play centres from time to time, but these are thankfully very rare. In most cases, any more serious accidents have been caused by faulty equipment, poor supervision or a combination of both these things. These can both be mitigated against to reduce the risks to your child.

To ensure that your child stays safe while enjoying themselves at a soft play centre, there are a few simple things you can do:

Choose a reputable centre with well-maintained equipment

This is the step that will mak the biggest difference to the safety of your child so it is important to do some research to establish whether the soft play area you are visiting has a reputation for safety.

Even if you don’t know other parents in the surrounding area, it is possible to look for online reviews and comments, as fellow parents tend to want to help each other to find the best and safest places.

Ensure that your child is supervised at all times

Supervision doesn’t have to mean being close to your child at all times, it is possible to be more hands-off and in most cases just keep a watchful eye from a distance and allow them to experience the soft play area on their own terms.

It can also be reassuring for them to be able to look over and know that you are there, even if they are too busy enjoying playing to want to interact directly with you in the moment.

Teach your child to play safely and responsibly

This is quite important and is an aspect of socialisation where effort can really pay off. Helping your children to learn that they should be careful and considerate around smaller children especially will help to make the soft play area much safer for all of the children using it. Teaching them to wait their turn and to share with others will allow them to avoid potential squabbles as well and help them to get the maximum benefit from their visit.

By following these simple guidelines, you can help to ensure that your child has a fun and safe experience at the soft play centre.

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash