Shade seems pretty unimportant when it comes to playground safety, after all, making sure play structures are built properly and swing set parts are not worn out seem to be at the top of the safety checklist, but shade is very important, if not the most important safety feature on a playground. So if shade is the most important safety feature, why is it overlooked so often?

Answer: People don't realize how HOT playground equipment and surfaces can get!

Let's find out just how hot a play area can get on an average sunny summer day.

In Cathedral City, California, the CBS Local 2 News staff took a laser temperature gun to measure playground equipment at Panorama Park when it was 115F degrees outside. The playground equipment and flooring measured 161F to 180F degrees! According to AntiScald Inc., a person can receive third degree burns by touching a structure, at 140F degrees,  for 5 seconds. That's 20-40 degrees cooler than the recorded temperature of playgrounds and surfaces that are not protected with shade.

Burns are not the only thing to worry about,  "children's skin is especially sensitive to direct sunlight because they don't have as many pigment cells as adults do. Children burn faster and cumulative skin damage starts with the first exposure," according to the American Academy of Dermatology, "one bad sunburn in childhood could cause skin cancer 30 years later." Improper shade over your playground area can cause children to over heat and adults can have heat strokes resulting in a trip to the hospital.

So you can see why shade is a very important component to playground safety. It prevents heat exhaustion, heat strokes, second and third degree burns, skin cancer and so much more!

BYO Recreation offers a variety of shade structures for playgrounds, sandboxes, benches, tables, sidewalks and virtually anywhere you desire, we can provide you with shade. Pretty cool!

For more information about how shade can save your visitors from harsh injuries or illnesses please give us a call at 1-800-853-5316 and one of our consultants will be happy to answer your inquires and concerns. Also, visit our website and take a look at our state-of-the-art shade structures and place an order to save children's health.

To learn more about playground safety, please review the Public Playground Safety Handbook, and to obtain a playground safety checklist please refer to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission's Public Playground Safety Checklist.