Bar None
Put your playground to work--as a marketing tool

By Karen Butler

GameTime

Most churches realize the importance of having a playground, but few have actually tapped into using the swings and slides as a selling point. In such a tough market, church childcare centers have to utilize their resources to stand out from other secular and non-secular options. What better way to draw in parishioners--and their kids--than by offering a highly visible, uniquely attractive playground?

Playgrounds are as important to effective church childcare centers as naptime and good teachers. However, these days it's not good enough just having a playground; church childcare centers truly need to invest into making theirs stand out.

Carsten Madsen, vice president of Kompan Inc., in Olympia, Wash., says, "Playgrounds will become more and more the dominant feature to promote the child care facility. First they will become larger, and later more facilities will move the playground to the front of the building rather than the back for the same reason."

The single most important aspect of a playground is safety. According to Tom Norquist, a senior vice president for Ft. Payne, Ala.-based GameTime, evolving safety standards and ADA-accessibility standards are two strong incentives for centers to keep equipment up-to-date.

Grounds For Play

When focusing on the safety component, equipment is not the only consideration. "Almost 70 percent of playground injuries are due to falls from the play equipment," says Robert G. Heath, CEO of Fibar Systems in Armonk, N.Y. "Providing a proven safety surface can offer security to the parent that playground injuries will be minimal or even non-existent at the child care center."

Besides increasing safety, surfacing can also increase your playground's marketability. "In terms of safety surfacing, the best way for an owner or operator of a childcare center to make a statement to a potential customer is to let them walk onto the playground and experience the feel of the surfacing," explains Cary Senders, vice president of sales/marketing for GroundScape Technologies in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio.

A playground designed around types of play with well-thought out zones: dramatic play, construction play, curriculum-oriented play and physical play (climbing and swinging) has a great deal of staying power.

"In addition, creating an 'Oooh!' as parents walk out onto a playground with their child is much easier with the novelty of a children's village, than the sameness of a big structure with four slides--regardless of how colorful they are," says Eric Strickland, Ph.D., president of Mansfield, Texas-based Grounds For Play.

Kompan's Madsen senses two important trends in center playgrounds:

• Many facilities are going to solitaire/stand-alone pieces of equipment--and away from the typical 1980s type of powder-coated post and platform product. Instead, they are choosing moving equipment that rocks, spins or rotates through the interaction between children and caretakers. Equipment that facilitates tactile play with water, sand and wood fiber is an ongoing trend and helps to balance a playground that normally has too much focus on gross motor skills.
• The current trend for play areas at childcare centers is to enhance the natural surroundings and make a fine balance between commercial play equipment and natural elements. An example is dividing the grounds into areas such as gardens--forest, workshop garden, kitchen garden, and play garden.

Fibar Systems

One of the most important selling points of your playground is to make sure it's age-appropriate. Although kids might be impressed with towering structures, many parents are turned off by equipment that appears too complex or implies potential danger for younger daredevils. "Far too often, playground equipment suppliers make the mistake of thinking children six and under simply need shorter versions of the same equipment designed for children over six. They don't," says Strickland. "Elaborate composite structures are not necessary on playgrounds for children under six."

Since most equipment manufacturers use bright colors to appeal to children, finding other ways to stand out visually is very important, such as a colorful roof-like structure over the play equipment. With increasing concerns about ultraviolet exposure, playgrounds with overhead coverings can be a selling point for sun-sensitive parents.

Parents who are hip to recycling might be sold on equipment from Progressive Design Playgrounds. In addition to emphasizing design, components and color scheme, the company uses recycled materials, showing parents--and kids--the importance of environmental awareness.

Regardless of which approaches you use to make your playground more marketable, remember that parents do notice the little things. The playground often reflects the overall quality of the facility.

SKIN SAVER

Protect your little charges while they are playing outdoors with Rocky Mountain Sunscreen. It interlocks with their skin, enabling it hold better and last longer. Unlike many sunscreens, Rocky Mountain Sunscreen is designed for everyday use. It is hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, non-comedogenic (won't clog your pores) and certified by the AMC Cancer Research Center. It offers broad-spectrum protection, is waterproof, moisturizing, greaseless and PABA-free.

www.rmsunscreen.com
303.940.9803

ROCK'N GOOD TIMES

Kids love to climb! Now they can experience the thrill of climbing without scaling high above the ground. Children are encouraged to traverse the Rock Course from Soft Play using the strategically placed hand and foot holds that keep "climbers" close to the ground yet fully challenged. The molded panels feature three-dimensional rock formations, boulders and embedded "fossils" for children to discover as they climb. These unique roto-molded polyethylene plastic granite-colored panels are lightweight, easy-to-install and make a great addition to any kids area.

www.softplay.com
800.782.7529

SMALL BUT POWERFUL

This Hags Play UniMini play system is designed for the two to five age group. It features bright colors and multiple activity areas, from a gently sloping "rock wall" to a central clubhouse area bordered by a net bridge on one side and a wooden suspension bridge on the other. An easy-slope slide completes the play system that will encourage exploration and physical activity.

www.hags.com
314.984.9201

IT'S A MIRACLE!

Christian school and church centers can take advantage of maximum play and exercise value--at an affordable price--with playground systems from Cornerstone Supply Inc. Ten different basic setups are offered, including several that target children ages two and up.

www.cornerstoneinc.biz
800.552.7137