Concrete in playground

[Toomuchtooyoung01]

I know I’m going to sound like a lunatic. My little girl is about to start primary school and we visited for the first time today to meet her teacher. I can’t get over the playground, the concrete is so hard and unforgiving, I thought it would be tarmac etc or the softer terrain you get in public playgrounds. It seems so dangerous. All I can think of is her falling over and how much it would hurt on the hard concrete, and then the agony of knowing I wouldn’t be there to comfort her. Am I being insane? I almost wanted to say it to her teacher but thought I would be forever thought of as a nutter so kept quiet. It’s bugging me though. Has/does anyone else worry about this?

my sister (eons ago!) fell over on the tarmac playground & broke her arm
dd 1 fell over whilst roller skating on safety surface & broker her arm
they have a lot in common
safety surfaces don't necessarily mean you can't hurt yourself
ds was always falling over or colliding with someone on the grass - he went through trousers like sliced bread & had permanent bruises & scabs - his asthma nurse use to say "well this is good evidence his lungs are doing well" I liked that nurse
I suspect the reason why tarmac is favoured over cement is more about cost
I assume if they have play equipment they have a softer safety equipment underneath, that should be a legal requirement- actually I would be more interested in what supervision they have

Ahh she will be fine.
Just remind her that if she falls over and it's cut she should tell a teacher/dinner lady so it can be washed/dressed if need be.

I mean, it does sound a bit mad but that's ok, it's hard to think of them being hurt or upset without you there.
Dd2 was an accident magnet in foundation and ripped holes in about 20 pairs of tights! She always told me that she cried but X, Y or Z gave her a cuddle and she was always ok by the time I picked her up.
I think your worry is irrational but fairly normal 😊

Not being unreasonable I'd feel the same.

@LegendaryReady

I was talking about all the kids I grew up with, obviously not all in the UK were unscathed, like everything in life.

[quote Somanysocks]@LegendaryReady

I was talking about all the kids I grew up with, obviously not all in the UK were unscathed, like everything in life.[/quote]
I know you were, but serious head injury because of falling from play equipment onto concrete was a real issue and actually quite common, hence the changes. So it's very flippant to say it used to be OK because it wasn't for too many children and families.

Just like most people survived when drink driving was allowed or seatbelts weren't worn.

Op, when you've received enough'your child has banged her head' letters to wallpaper a small room, or been called to collect her after a very minor injury twice in a week, you'll have a different view, believe me!
I hope she settles well in her new school.

They playgrounds do look very unforgiving and vast at first, you're right.

Consider the risks though, if the equipment/setting were deemed unsuitable by the Health and Safety person, Ofsted and insurers they would be addressed.

The cost of smothering kids playgrounds in safety coverings is absolutely astronomical and in many cases just results in a really nasty friction burn rather than gravel.

You aren't a lunatic, but chalk this one down to not being a hill worth dying on.

Don’t mention this to school ... you’ll be talked about in the staff room for ages!

Your DD will be fine.

I spent half a day visiting a nursery that just had a concrete playground with a really high climbing frame with monkey bars I couldnt even reach. For 5 year olds. I spent an hour outside and only 1 teacher came out once for 5 mins with her coffee cup. I had to 'save' numerous kids who were dangling from the monkey bars screaming they were going to fall. I was basically the teacher. Turned it down and put in a complaint.

If it makes you feel better, I am a clumsy person and fall often - concrete is no worse than tarmac to fall on.

When dh was an infant school governor and doing health and safety checks he said that they could eliminate 90% of accidents in the school by changing the playground to soft play mats. If you wish to examine the expense of that and fund it yourself you can offer it to the school.

So yes, it's a hard surface.

But I know one child who broke her arm falling on the carpet from standing at home, another child who knocked a tooth out on the dining room table eating lunch and my uncle reputably still has glass in his arm from when he tried to open the window aged 24yo. Actually he managed to open the window. It was very open at the end.