Children's playspaces and equipment

1.1
This Standard provides requirements for public-use playground equipment and playspaces intended for use by children aged 18 months to 12 years, with anthropometric limits based on the 95th percentile.

Notes:

1) The level of challenge required and desired by children varies enormously with age, physical development, and emotional development; therefore, it is almost impossible to design a piece of playground equipment that meets the needs of all children. Children younger than 18 months and children aged 13 years and older do not usually use the equipment covered in this Standard.

2) The sixth year of a child's life (when the child is 5 years old) is accepted as a transitional year. Consequently, the requirements in this Standard are split into two age groupings: 18 months to 5 years and 5 years to 12 years. The overlap of the 5-year-old child is deliberate and acknowledges the transitional nature of the sixth year of life.

1.2
This Standard applies to outdoor public-use playground equipment and playspaces found at schools, parks, childcare facilities, institutions, multiple-family dwellings, private resort and recreation developments, restaurants, and other areas of public use. See Clause 3.

1.3
This Standard contains recommendations on technical requirements and practices applicable to the design, manufacture/construction, installation, maintenance, and inspection of public-use playground equipment and playspaces. The specifications laid out in this Standard are intended to minimize the likelihood of serious and/or life-threatening injuries.

1.4
This Standard applies to

a) public-use playspaces built, protective surfacing installed, and public-use playground equipment manufactured after the date of publication of this edition; and

b) additions to, and replacement parts for, public-use playspaces installed after the date of publication of this edition.