Every daycare center needs an outdoor play yard for the children. Safety in this area is paramount, and proper fencing can help ensure the yard is a safe area for the children in your business's care. Learn more about fencing around daycare centers.

Fencing Style

The first thing to consider is the style of fencing, which means choosing durable materials that are safe for the children.

Materials

For a daycare, the best options are wood, vinyl, or chain-link. You don't need a highly decorative iron fence, but you do want a fence that is attractive. Wood fences are cost-effective, but they do require more upkeep. Maintenance for wood includes periodic repainting or sealing, as well as repairing cracked or rotten pickets. Wood fences can also pose a splinter risk to children.

Vinyl fences mimic the look of wood without the needed maintenance or splinter risks, but they can be more costly depending on the design and quality. Chain-link provides a cost effective and equally durable alternative to vinyl.

Open Versus Closed

The next style decision to make after materials is open or closed pickets. Open pickets can make the play yard feel more open and welcoming, but there is a risk of children climbing the fence or trying to squeeze through the pickets. Generally, open pickets are better suited to play yards that have a buffer zone around them, as opposed to those that sit right on the street or next to a public sidewalk.

Closed pickets provide more privacy, but can make small yards feel more confining. Security and safety are also better with closed pickets since they are more difficult to climb.

Size Specifications

The size and spacing of a fence is an important safety consideration, but always check with your local municipality for any local codes that affect the size specifications of your fence.

Height

For the average toddler, a four-foot-tall fence will likely keep them contained, but you also want to make sure the fence is tall enough so that no one can reach over it from outside the fence.

Err on the side of too tall as opposed to not tall enough. A six-foot fence, for example, will contain most children while also being tall enough to prevent adults from reaching into the play yard.

Picket Spacing

Picket spacing is very important, as you don't want a child to be able to squeeze through or get stuck between the pickets. If you opt for open pickets on the fence, make sure they are spaced close enough together to prevent a child from sticking their head between the pickets.

As a rule of thumb, a four-inch maximum spacing between pickets is sufficient. Local codes may also provide rules on required picket spacing.

Security

Security involves both keeping the children in the play yard and keeping unauthorized people out of the yard.

Gate Mechanisms

Gates should be self-latching and the latch must be placed high enough so that a child cannot reach it. Choose a gate with a latch that cannot be accessed from outside of the play yard.

Automated security latches are an even better idea. Daycare attendants can use a key pad code or security badge to open the gate, which will prevent children and outsiders from operating the latch.

Climbability

You don't want children to easily climb the fence, nor do you want outsiders to climb the fence and into the play yard. Open pickets are generally easier to climb because the cross rails that support the pickets provide a ladder. Closed pickets are more difficult to climb on one side, but the cross bars on the opposite side may making climbing easier. Unlike wood, vinyl fencing doesn't have these climbable cross bars.

Chain-link fences can be quite easy to climb. Opt for rubber coated chain-link to prevent climbing. The rubber coating looks nice, protects the fence, and closes the openings enough to prevent most climbing.

Contact Duke Fence Co., Inc., for more help in designing the perfect fence for your daycare.