Summary of Article's First 150 Words

Total word count: 2163

Supervision of children on playgrounds is a hot topic in child care centers. The National Program for Playground Safety receives questions about supervision of children on the playground more frequently than almost any other topic. Actually, the question asked most often about supervision is: "What is the correct or ideal ratio of supervisors to children?" Other questions include: "Do children need to be supervised?" "Should supervisors be trained?" "If supervisors need to be trained, what training do they need?" Some answers follow.


Why Worry About Supervision?

It is estimated that over 40% of playground injuries may be related to inadequate supervision (King, 1991). Also, it is reported that 60% to 80% of injuries in schools occur when children are playing on playgrounds (Thompson & Bruya, 1998). Thus, proper supervision should occur whenever children are on the child care center playground or even when children are taken to the park for a special event ...