5 Ways to Stay Safe on the Playground this Winter

It’s important for children to get daily exercise, even in the winter when shorter days and colder weather makes this more difficult. With proper planning, you can make winter recess a success!

1. Children dress appropriately

Make sure children (and supervisors!) have adequate winter clothing for your area. If the temperature is cold, bundle up in thick socks, scarves, hats, and gloves.

2. Winter playground maintenance

Determine if you’ll need winter-specific maintenance that allows students to safely play such as shoveling ice or snow puddles, non-slip mats at doorways, etc. Get more maintenance tips from our Playground Safety Checklist!

3. Determine what temperature is too cold for recess

Keep safety a top priority and establish a protocol that determines when it’s too cold for recess and children should stay indoors.

4. Have recess indoors

If it’s too cold to have recess on the playground, get creative and have recess indoors. Working with the space you have, you can conduct fun games that help children get active such as Simon Says, musical chairs, and hide-and-seek.

5. Plan winter-friendly games

Winter allows for fun activities such as sledding, creating snowmen, and more! Make this season more enjoyable and special by doing things you can only do when it snows.