ÇOCUK OYUN PARKLARININ GÜVENLİĞİNİN İNCELENMESİ: ANKARA VE SAMSUN İLLERİ ÖRNEĞİ

Playing games is a natural activity for children and crucial for their development. Playgrounds are places where children meet their play needs and discharge. Such mistakes as the selection of wrong location and floor material, and lack of maintenance of equipment can cause fatal accidents in playgrounds. Playgrounds, which have an important place in children's lives, must be designed in a safe way to protect children from hazards and accidents, and right materials must be used and they must be durable. Playgrounds must be given due importance in order to support the positive development of children. For this reason, the main aim of this study is to examine the safety of playgrounds in the cities of Ankara and Samsun. The general screening model was used in the study. The study sample consists of 150 children's playgrounds located in the districts of Çankaya, Yenimahalle and Gölbaşı of Ankara and the districts of İlkadım and Atakum of Samsun. Data were collected using a checklist developed by the researchers. The checklist was filled in by making observations in the playgrounds. Findings related to floor types, materials, number of broken materials, general rules about parks, swings, slides and seesaws were examined and tabulated. Results show that the majority of children's playgrounds are safe but that there are some that do not meet the safety criteria stated above. Results indicate that children's playgrounds are not checked periodically after they are put into service.