The decision to include a children’s activity or play area at a live event is a decision to create a specialized environment whose design, staffing, and operational standards must be calibrated to the characteristics and vulnerabilities of its users in ways that general event spaces are not. Children move differently from adults, encounter hazards at different heights and through different mechanisms, have different nutritional and sanitary needs, and require supervision ratios and staff qualifications that are not necessary in adult-only areas. An event that places a children’s activity area on site without specific planning and purpose-built design has not provided a children’s area; it has provided a general event space that happens to have children in it, which is a substantially different and more hazardous proposition.

This article addresses the design, operational, staffing, and safety considerations for dedicated children’s activity and play areas at live events, from site selection and layout planning through activity design, staff qualifications, and the administrative systems that support responsible children’s area operations.

Site Selection and Layout

The location of the children’s activity area within the broader event site has implications for both its operational effectiveness and the safety of its occupants. The area should be positioned with direct access to or proximity to medical and security posts, food and beverage service, restrooms, and a plumbed water source. A children’s area that is poorly served by these essential services places both children and their supervising adults in a position of having to leave the area frequently to access basic needs, increasing the risk of child-adult separation and reducing the effectiveness of supervision (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The children’s area should be positioned so that its location relative to the overall event’s traffic flow minimizes throughput interference. A children’s area located in a high-throughput corridor will experience constant intrusion from general event traffic that complicates security, supervision, and the management of entry and exit. A children’s area with dedicated access routes that are physically separate from main event pedestrian flows is significantly easier to manage. Where the children’s area is an enclosed structure such as a tent or building, dedicated vehicular access for emergency vehicles, service delivery, and sanitation trucks must be provided, with physical separation of vehicle routes from pedestrian areas used by children (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The layout of the children’s area should provide for a single main entry and exit point through which all normal access is managed, with additional emergency exits as required by the authority having jurisdiction. The single main entry/exit configuration makes it possible to manage accountability—who is in the area and who has left—and to monitor for unauthorized access or attempts to remove a child from the area by an unauthorized person. Emergency exits required by the AHJ may need to be staffed to prevent their use for unauthorized access during normal operations. The area’s capacity must be calculated on the basis of the actual usable area, accounting for queue lines, equipment footprints, and supervision sightlines, rather than simply on the basis of the total floor area of the space (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Perimeter fencing is essential: it contains enthusiastic children who may run toward a hazard without registering it, defines the boundary of the managed area, and prevents unmonitored access by adults whose presence has not been verified. The fencing configuration must account for the minimum height needed to discourage children from climbing over it, the visibility requirements of supervising staff who must be able to see all areas of the space, and the placement of entry and exit points where staff can monitor all movement in and out.

The area should be surveyed and physically cleared of hazards before children are admitted. Hazard removal should specifically address items that may not be obvious to adults but that present hazards to children: broken glass or sharp debris at ground level, exposed sprinkler heads, animal feces, holes or surface irregularities that could cause trips or falls, exposed hardware, and cleaning solutions or other chemicals stored at accessible heights. Open and standing water of any type—ponds, pools, fountains, drainage basins, or muddy low spots—must be fenced off to prevent access by small children (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Environmental and Facility Considerations

Children’s hearing is more sensitive than adults’ and more susceptible to noise-induced hearing damage. The ambient noise level in and around the children’s area—particularly from nearby entertainment stages, powered rides, or amplified activities—should be evaluated as part of site selection. A children’s area positioned immediately adjacent to a main stage operating at concert-level sound pressure will expose its occupants to noise levels that may cause permanent hearing damage in children with extended exposure. NIOSH recommends noise exposure limits of 85 dBA for adults; children’s exposure limits are not separately codified but the biological basis for damage is identical, and children are likely exposed at the same sound levels for longer continuous periods than adults who may move away from high-noise areas (NIOSH, 1998).

At outdoor events, the children’s area requires specific provisions for weather protection. Shade structures protect against heat-related illness and sunburn; in hot weather, ice, water, and sunscreen should be available in the area. The structure must be engineered for the anticipated wind and weather loads, and emergency procedures for weather events should include the children’s area specifically. Flooring surfaces in the area should be assessed for slip resistance under wet conditions; surfaces that become slippery when rained on present greater hazard in a children’s area than in general areas due to children’s higher fall frequency and lower tolerance for fall-related injuries (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Restroom facilities serving the children’s area must be closer and more frequently serviced than general event restroom facilities. Children have less voluntary control of bathroom timing than adults, meaning that a longer distance to restrooms translates directly into a higher rate of sanitation incidents in the activity area itself. Diaper-changing facilities must be provided. Hand-washing facilities must be available at or near the children’s area entry and exit points, and near any activity involving animals, food, or messy materials. Sanitation contractors must service the children’s area restrooms more frequently than adult facilities, with specific protocols for the collection of soiled diapers (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Age-Appropriate Activities and Equipment

Activities in the children’s area must be appropriate to the age groups of the children who will use them, and this appropriateness must be assessed systematically rather than assumed. What is appropriate for a 10-year-old may be unsafe for a 4-year-old and insufficiently engaging for a 14-year-old. Events serving wide age ranges should consider physically separating activities by age group to prevent smaller children from being injured by larger, more active children and to allow each group to engage with activities calibrated to their developmental stage (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

A risk assessment must be conducted for each planned activity before the event opens. The risk assessment should identify the specific hazards associated with the activity, the age range for which the activity is appropriate, the supervision requirements, the material safety of any substances used (non-toxic, non-allergenic, and free of choking hazards for the relevant age group), and the maximum capacity of the activity station. For face painting activities, those serving children aged four and under should limit painting to hands and cheeks, require parental consent before painting, and use only documented non-allergenic water-based face paints. The face painter should be able to provide liability insurance documentation and product safety information on request (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Play equipment—climbing structures, slides, swings, and similar items—must be appropriate for the age and size of the expected users, in good repair, and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements. Impact-absorbing materials must be installed beneath and around climbing equipment, swings, and slides: wood chips, pea gravel, shredded rubber, or rubber matting designed for this purpose. The depth and condition of impact-absorbing surfaces must be inspected before the event opens and monitored throughout. Local parks departments can provide guidance on appropriate materials and installation depths. Sand areas must be inspected for foreign materials including glass, hardware, animal feces, and sharp debris (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Powered rides and amusements require operator certification for the specific equipment being operated. Bouncy castles and similar inflatable structures require constant supervision and active capacity management to prevent overcrowding; unsupervised overcrowding of inflatable play equipment is a well-documented source of children’s injuries at events. Ride operators must have current certification for their equipment, and the event organizer should verify that certification before granting site access.

Water activities involving children require specific staff-to-child ratios that vary by the type of water feature involved. California Health and Safety Code provisions cited in the ESA guidance provide one example: a one-adult-to-two-infant/toddler ratio for activities in or near water that children cannot exit without assistance, and a one-adult-to-six-children ratio for swimming pool and natural body of water activities. At least one adult present must hold a valid water safety certificate. Applicable ratios in the event’s jurisdiction must be determined through consultation with the local AHJ (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The Children’s Area Manager

The Children’s Area Manager (CAM) is the designated operational lead for the children’s activity area from planning through post-event close. This role is distinct from the Children’s Issues Coordinator (CIC) described in the ESA guidance, though both positions may be held by the same person in smaller events. The CAM’s responsibilities encompass the planning, design, staffing, and operation of the children’s area as a physical environment, while the CIC’s focus is on the event-wide policies and procedures for incidents involving children.

The CAM should be experienced in managing children’s areas or programs of similar scope and complexity. The Event Safety Alliance recommends that the CAM be at least 18 years of age, preferably 21, and that an assistant manager be fully qualified to assume the CAM role in the manager’s absence. The CAM is responsible for developing and maintaining the Children’s Area Binder—a documented record of the area’s policies, risk assessments, staff roster, emergency procedures, and operational protocols—a copy of which should be kept in the event’s command center (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The CAM leads the selection and supervision of all staff working in the children’s area, including the verification of background check clearances, the confirmation of required qualifications (first aid/CPR certification, child care credentials where required), and the development and delivery of children’s area-specific training before the event.

Staffing Qualifications and Background Checks

Staff working in the children’s area or in any role that brings them into regular contact with children must meet a higher qualification standard than general event staff. The most critical qualification requirement is a criminal background check that specifically screens for offenses related to children and violent crimes. Individuals with a known history of child-related or violence-related offenses must not be permitted to work in or near the children’s area under any circumstances. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a guidance document, “What You Need to Know About Background Screening,” that offers practical guidance for event organizers managing this requirement (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Some jurisdictions require fingerprinting of staff who will work with children, health screenings, and tuberculosis testing. The specific requirements of the event’s jurisdiction must be determined through consultation with the AHJ and local child protective services before hiring decisions are finalized. Records required for staff working in children’s areas may include full name, driver’s license information, date of employment, criminal clearance documentation, first aid and CPR certification, and a signed statement of age (the CAM must be at least 18).

All staff working in the children’s area should ideally hold current first aid and CPR certification; at minimum, at least one certified staff member must be present in the area whenever it is operating. An event first aid post should be positioned in or adjacent to the children’s area. Staff training must specifically address child protection issues, appropriate physical interaction with children (no touching without a second adult witness in most protocols), and the reporting procedures for any situation that raises child welfare concerns. No physical restraint, corporal punishment, or practices that threaten or humiliate children are permissible; in some states, corporal punishment is a criminal offense, and event organizers should require staff to report any corporal punishment witnessed, including by parents or guardians.

Staff in the children’s area must be clearly identifiable through consistent, difficult-to-replicate credentialing and uniform attire. The combination of a distinctive uniform and clearly displayed credentials allows both children and parents to identify authorized event staff quickly, which is particularly important in lost child situations and in situations where an unauthorized adult is attempting to access the area or remove a child.

Conclusion

A children’s activity area at a live event is a significant operational undertaking that rewards systematic planning and is made significantly more hazardous by planning gaps. The site design and layout, the activity risk assessments, the staffing qualifications and background checks, the sanitation and medical provisions, and the administrative systems that support the Children’s Area Manager are all components of a purpose-built system for the care and safety of one of the most vulnerable populations that events serve. Event organizers who treat the children’s area as an afterthought create exposure—legal, ethical, and operational—that is both predictable and preventable.

References

Event Safety Alliance. (2013). The event safety guide (version 1.1). ESA. https://eventsafetyalliance.org

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (1998). Occupational noise exposure (NIOSH Publication No. 98-126). NIOSH. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (2011). What you need to know about background screening. NCMEC. https://www.missingkids.org

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Stairways. 29 CFR 1926.1052. OSHA.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2010). Public playground safety handbook. CPSC Publication No. 325.