Are Playgrounds Too Safe?
An interesting article in the WSJ “Playing It Too Safe?” If playgrounds are boring, kids don’t want to play or don’t have sufficient challenge — physically or mentally
Some child-development experts and parents say decades of dumbed-down playgrounds, fueled by fears of litigation, concerns about injury and worrywart helicopter parents, have led to cookie-cutter equipment that offers little thrill. The result, they say, is that children are less compelled to play outside, potentially stunting emotional and physical development and exacerbating a nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity.
“We don’t give our children enough roaming space to help them test their limits or to help them become confident in their physical skills,” says Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, a professor in the department of psychology at Philadelphia’s Temple University. “Sometimes when we protect people too much they never learn to take healthy risks.”
“It’s important that play environments are as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible,” Dr. Sandseter says, adding that broken and fractured arms and legs shouldn’t be considered serious injuries.
The article mentions several “provocative playgrounds” in the U.S. including:
- Hoboken’s Pier C, with an 18-foot slide
- Boston’s Esplanade Playspace with a 65-foot zipline.
- Memphis, TN’s Shelby Farm Park with the Queens Swing
- Maplewood MN’s Applewood Park with the Mobius Climber
- Saratoga Spring UT’s Neptune Park with a 30-foot high climbing pyramid
- Atlanta’s Chastain Park with a group swing and 8-foot wide slide