Is Artificial Grass Good for Children's Play Area?

Play areas provide children safe spaces where they can learn and be themselves. These places offer abundant activities and free play opportunities, which can positively impact a child's development. By playing in playgrounds, kids can improve their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills, enabling them to explore ideas, test their boundaries, build their self-esteem, and learn how to behave. 

As playgrounds are beneficial in child development, it is vital to make sure they are safe for use. Aside from checking possible hazards in play equipment, it is also crucial to utilize suitable safety surfacing for the play area.

Over the years, several surfaces or filler materials have been used for playgrounds, including sand, pea gravel, bark mulch, wood fibre, and crumb rubber. Accordingly, the grass is also another preferred surface for play areas. There are two types of grass available for use in playgrounds: natural grass and artificial grass. 

Natural grass is the most preferred surfacing material for play areas; however, it is only favoured when in good condition. On the other hand, artificial grass, a synthetic surface that imitates natural grass, is another excellent surface option for playgrounds. 

Here are some reasons why it is excellent to use synthetic grass for school playgrounds: 

It is low maintenance 

In the 1960s, the first artificial grass was used in a sports stadium to the natural grass pitch because its maintenance can be challenging and expensive. 

Natural grass needs to be routinely maintained, possibly on a weekly basis. It also requires enough care and an adequate amount of water to prevent it from severely deteriorating, particularly during summer, where it can quickly wither with the sun's scorching heat. Regular care and maintenance of natural grass are crucial as uneven grass, divots, and soil can cause accidents and injuries. With this, it would be inefficient to use real grass on playgrounds. 

In contrast, synthetic grass does not require weekly cutting, trimming, or maintenance to ensure that the landscape is free from slippery mud or soil. Hence, the time and resources necessary for routine care and maintenance of the grass can be saved and allocated to other tasks like upkeeping playground equipment.

It is weather-resistant 

Although natural grass can be great for playgrounds, particularly for the visuals of the area, it is not suitable for every type of weather. It can be hazardous after a rain downpour as the grass can spoil and become waterlogged. 

Artificial turf can be an excellent safety surface option for playgrounds. It is a weather-resistant grass surface that will always look great whether the weather conditions are hot or cold. In addition, it does not get soaked with water, enabling children to head out and play on it without fear of slipping or getting their feet, socks, and shoes too wet. 

It is safe for children

There will be kids running, climbing, jumping, and sliding down playground equipment in play areas. Although these are normal in playgrounds, these activities can also lead to falls, bumps, and scrapes. 

By utilizing artificial turf for play areas, children's safety can be ensured. This is because synthetic turfs are non-abrasive; thus, they can absorb the shock of a fall and reduce the cases of scraped knees and elbows. 

Moreover, artificial grass is safe for children to play on as these do not need weed killers, pesticides, and even fertilizers, among many other chemicals used to maintain natural grass. Synthetic turfs do not need chemicals to preserve their green, lush look. Additionally, it does not provide food or a habitable area for pests; therefore, artificial grass does not need pesticides. 

It can encourage children to play outdoors

An all-weather safety surface that is safe and soft to walk or run on can encourage kids to head out to their playground, regardless of the weather condition. Children will be assured that they will not get too many bumps and scrapes even if they fall on the surface while playing. 

Artificial grass for school playgrounds provides padding that is not easily displaced, protecting children from getting hurt from falls. This is in comparison with other safety surface types. Natural grass can be pretty hard and does not have an impact-absorbing property; meanwhile, mulch and sand easily get displaced when children walk or run on them, and this can be dangerous as the hard ground underneath can be exposed. 

It is environmentally friendly

Artificial grass is an eco-friendly safety surface option for play areas. These do not need regular watering and fertilizers to maintain their lush, green look and do not require harsh weed killers and pesticides to eliminate weeds or bugs and other pests. Thus, synthetic grass can reduce water consumption and eliminate the harsh effects of chemicals on the local environment. Fertilizers and pesticides can cause the overgrowth of algae in ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. 

Furthermore, synthetic turf does not require mowing as it does not grow tall like natural grass. With this, carbon emissions from mowers or even trimmers can be cut down. 

Wrap Up

It can be an excellent investment to utilize synthetic turf in multi-purpose areas for schools. Artificial grass can be used as a safety surface for play areas as well as other landscapes where students usually gather and socialize. 

Children can safely play on artificial grass landscapes without fear of getting hurt or bruised from a fall, or exposed to harmful chemicals used in maintaining natural grass. Consequently, schools also gain benefits from using synthetic turf in school areas. Artificial turfs will not need to allocate extra time and money to maintain their landscape as the surfacing material does not require extensive maintenance, unlike natural grass. Also, schools can advocate for the environment with the use of synthetic grass, as they can cut down on carbon emissions and use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. 

Where to get artificial grass?

For premium synthetic grass solutions, you can always choose Easy Turf. We offer quality life-like turf suited to Australia's harsh climate conditions and provide quality artificial grass installation for commercial, sporting, and residential landscapes. You can contact us at 1800 327 988 or 1300 475 498. You can also visit our website at www.easyturf.com.au to learn more about our products and services.