Rethinking ‘ultra-safe’ playgrounds: Why it’s time to bring back ‘thrill-provoking’ equipment for kids
Angela Hanscom is a pediatric occupational therapist and founder ofTimberNook, a nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent play outdoors in New England. She has written a number of popular posts on this blog, including “Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today,” as well as “The right — and surprisingly wrong — ways to get kids to sit still in class” and “How schools ruined recess.” And here is her newest post, which adds to her exploration of the effects on children of limited movement. Her book, “Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children,” will be published in April 2016.
By Angela Hanscom
I’m sitting at the lake’s edge of our campsite reading a good book, when my 9-year-old and 6-year-old come running to my side.
“Mom,” my oldest daughter yells. “You have to come see what we did at the playground!”
“Yeah,” my youngest chimes in. “We got bored, so we made up our own ways to use the swings and stuff.”
As I watch my daughters climb up a tunnel slide together (on the outside!), I make a mental note that the playground equipment, which looks pretty standard today, isn’t challenging enough for my daughters.
Playgrounds have drastically changed over the years. Most no longer offer the same sensory and motor challenges as the playgrounds of yesteryear. Due toincreasing liability and safety concerns over the years, we’ve replaced the metal playground equipment that towered over us as young children with brightly colored ultra-safe alternatives.
We’ve taken away merry-go-rounds and teeter-totters. Swing spans have decreased and slides and climbing structures are surprisingly close to the Rethinking ‘ultra-safe’ playgrounds: Why it’s time to bring back ‘thrill-provoking’ equipment for kids - The Washington Post: