| It is amazing to me how playgrounds have evolved. And before you roll your eyes, this is not necessarily a “well, Sonny, back in my day…” type post. I think playgrounds are a sign of our time. Everything is “safer” and less wild. Slides are shorter and less slick. Equipment is more spread out. The tire swing is not really a tire. And it is attached in such a way that it doesn’t swing the same or really even swing at all. I’m not saying this is necessarily bad. It simply is how it is. |
| Watching the kids play though, something becomes apparent. Kids still want to push boundaries, test themselves. Kids still find a way to get hurt as they push those boundaries. Kids still want to take risks, explore, make friends. They climb on the outside of something they should be inside of. They swing higher than “they should”. They jump out of swings at the top of the arc. Why? Because play is a safe(r) way to learn about themselves, their bodies, their limitations. Sterilizing a playground just makes it more appealing to find ways around the safety bumpers. How do I make this slide faster? Throw some sand on it or make it wet. It’s problem solving. The real danger is from the parents and the equipment manufacturers who keep making things less fun and limiting exploration and daring. The more sterile something is, the less fun it is. Kids are still going to want to branch out and push boundaries. If they can’t physically do that on a playground, where can they? Electronically on video games and socials. When there is an offer of something daring, something exciting, something outside of the parameters of what they “can” do, they will push it. Wherever they can get away with it. My generation and ones older than me, pushed the boundaries on the playground, on our bicycles, in the woods. Now, if those options are sterilized or eliminated, the substitute is the forest online. And man, it is a scary jungle. Read this article. And it is just one of hundreds like it. https://www.sdcda.org/preventing/protecting-children-online/facts-for-parents |
