Any examination of the adequacy of playground protective surfacing must include the mechanics of play, and the benefits of play in relation to the potential of an injury to the participant. Both the injury severity, its long-term effects on the body part that is injured are important to the discussion. Play is extremely important in the development of children. Children will find age appropriate activities based on their abilities and in some cases as a result of the activities of their peers and siblings. Play consists of creative, social, physical and quiet play and can take place anywhere including the formalized structure based playground.

Although play occurs in many settings and injuries are not restricted to the formalize playground, it is the injuries in the formalized playground that has created the need for injury prevention and standards. The initial work in standards was to prevent injuries that could cause death. These included the prevention of head and neck entrapments, strangulation, protrusions that could penetrate in the eye socket and impact related injuries with surfacing that could cause a life-threatening head injury. The scope of almost all playground standards around the world state that compliance with the standard should prevent, to the extent possible, the lifethreatening and debilitating injury.