Built playgrounds

What to look out for in community and backyard playgrounds.

Unstructured outdoor play and risky play

Benefits to your child engaging in unstructured outdoor play and risky play.

Playgrounds and play spaces

Safety features and hazards to look out for in playgrounds, safety concerns about trampolines and benefits of unstructured outdoor play and risky play.

Play parks and water features

How to help prevent drowning and other injuries from occurring on splash pads, wading pools, ponds, fountains and other water features.

Updated

Play time

Safety tips for toys, baby walkers and stationary activity centres

Horseback riding

Horses can reach speeds up to 60 km/h (37 mph), resulting in more injuries per hour in the saddle than during motorcycle or auto racing. Due to these potential high speeds, the unpredictable behaviour of horses and the distance of the rider from the ground, equestrian athletes are at risk for head and spinal injuries. […]

Football

Fortunately, the majority of injuries in football are not serious. The most common injuries are contusions, muscle strains and ligament sprains. However, some injuries in football qualify as “catastrophic”, defined by the American Medical Association as injuries resulting in a 55-per-cent chance or more impairment. These include traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury leading […]

Children's unstructured play – Canadian Public Health Association position statement (2019)

The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) recognizes unstructured play as a child’s right and a critical component to child and youth health and well-being. Actions are necessary to reduce the barriers limiting opportunities for unstructured play at school and in the community. CPHA commends those school boards, municipalities, other governments and non- governmental organizations that are taking positive steps to improve children’s access to unstructured play; however, further steps are needed.

Benefits of Play infographic

When children play outside, they have more freedom, are more physically active, and move their bodies in different ways. The outdoors can offer a greater variety of play environments and loose parts to interact with (e.g., sticks, rocks, buckets, sand, crates) – allowing their imagination to shape their play.

Why outdoor play is more important than ever

[From Active for Life] A discussion of the importance of active, outdoor play for kids, especially during COVID-19. This resource also addresses overcoming barriers, such as not having a backyard or your child not wanting to play outdoors.