(HealthDay News) -- Before your child visits a new playground, parents should inspect the facility to be sure it's safe.

To help protect your child from injury, the National Program for Playground Safety offers these guidelines:

• Make sure that you or another trusted adult is always supervising your child's play.
• To prevent possible strangulation, don't allow your child to play while he's wearing clothing with drawstrings.
• The playground should have age-appropriate equipment in separate sections, so that younger children can avoid injury from older children's play and equipment.
• Playground surfaces should provide cushion in the event of a fall -- surfaces that are concrete, grass, asphalt, gravel or packed dirt can contribute to injuries. Acceptable surfaces include hardwood fiber/mulch, pea gravel, sand, or rubber mats.
• All equipment should be properly rooted to the ground, with no loose, rusting, or missing parts.

-- Diana Kohnle

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