Design and Safety Aspects of Malaysian Children Playgrounds

Current studies about safety and design aspects of children playgrounds in Malaysia are not very encouraging. However, there were a lot of articles condemning about unsatisfactory quality in Malaysian playgrounds. Many common playgrounds had an insufficient design and unsafe conditions due to poor maintenance. Such conditions produced hazards and may lead to child injuries. The researchers took this responsibility to raise public awareness on safety and design aspects of children playgrounds. Eighty public playgrounds had been surveyed in several cities in Peninsular Malaysia. There were also social surveys conducted on 172 respondents. They were asked to submit their opinions about safety features in their neighbourhood playgrounds. This study reveals that every children playground should be maintained adequately to eliminate general hazards and to reduce risks of child injuries. This study can also be used as a reference point in the continuous development to upgrade the safety standards and appropriate designs of Malaysian children playgrounds.

Autorentext

Ahmad Sid Hijaz is a certified playground safety inspector (CPSI) and Mohd Erman is a specialist in Revit software. Both of them teach architecture diploma program in Malaysia polytechnics. Ahmad Sanusi is a professor of architecture at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.