Playground Safety for Toddlers Aged 13 to 18 Months

Choose a play area for your child’s abilities

A 13- to 18-month-old may walk, climb, or move unpredictably but may not judge heights or moving equipment. Choose a toddler area and stay within immediate reach when a fall is possible.

Look for equipment labelled or designed for toddlers. An older child’s climbing frame can have openings, heights, and movement that are unsuitable for a young toddler.

Follow posted age and use instructions. If equipment is crowded, damaged, or beyond your child’s ability, choose another activity such as walking, pushing a toy, or playing on the ground.

Close supervision is still needed even in a fenced or toddler-designated playground.

How can you use a swing safely?

Use a swing with a full supportive seat designed for a toddler, and secure any restraint as the manufacturer directs.

Keep the swing low and move it gently. Stay beside your child, keep other children clear of its path, and never leave them strapped in unattended.

Why not go down the slide holding your child?

An adult’s leg or foot can catch against the slide while the child is on their lap, creating a risk of serious leg injury.

Let your child use a small toddler slide independently only when they can do so safely and you can supervise closely; otherwise choose a ground-level play activity.

What should you check on the ground?

Look for broken glass, sharp objects, animal waste, standing water, loose parts, and trip hazards before play.

Falls are common on playgrounds. Protective surfacing can reduce injury severity, but it cannot eliminate injury risk; hard concrete or asphalt beside equipment is a concern.

How do you check for hot surfaces and weather?

In warm weather, touch metal, plastic, and dark surfaces before your child sits or climbs. They can become hot enough to burn skin.

Use shade, suitable clothing, and drinking-water breaks. Move play to a cooler time if equipment or the ground feels hot.

How close should you stay?

Stay close enough to catch or guide your child when they use unfamiliar or elevated equipment. A toddler cannot reliably judge fall risk.

Let your child explore manageable challenges while you watch. Constantly lifting or holding them on equipment can introduce a fall risk and limit their chance to practise safely.

What about other children and dogs?

Older children may move quickly and not notice a toddler in their path. Keep your child separate from fast-moving play and intervene before collisions.

Ask before a child approaches an unfamiliar dog, and keep your toddler beside you around animals. Toddlers may grab, startle, or get close to a dog’s face.

What can you do before play starts?

Choose a toddler-suitable area, check its surface and equipment, and decide where you will stand to keep your child in view.

Pack water, a hat or weather-appropriate layer, and a small first-aid kit if useful. Keep your phone accessible for emergencies without letting it distract you from supervision.

When should an injury be assessed?

Seek urgent medical care for serious bleeding, difficulty breathing, a suspected broken bone, or a head injury followed by repeated vomiting, unusual sleepiness, seizure, or loss of consciousness.

For a minor bump or scrape, comfort your child and monitor them. Contact a clinician if pain, swelling, movement, or behaviour concerns you.