We Need More "Adventure Playgrounds"
There’s a place a few miles away from us where, supposedly, parents plop their kids into a tragic wasteland of rusty nails, scraps of wood, stray paint cans and piles of dirt.
“Here,” they say, “Go play. Make stuff.”
And the kids do, and they of course love it. My daughter, 2, is still a little young for this type of playspace, I think, but I cannot wait for the time when we can go together. I’m not sure what this place is called, but it surely must look like these “Lost Adventure Playgrounds” Greg over at DaddyTypes mourns today.
I have never even heard of these places, and now, sadly, they are all gone or nearly so.
Growing up, my middling little suburb only had safe, secure playgrounds with wood structures and chain swings. There was nothing like this: Lots of empty space, filled with sand and rubble or whatever, and where kids could just go and play until their hearts are content. So we made do with creeks and vacant construction sites and, in the end, had more fun than we ever had at the playground.
Now, of course, there’s few wooden playgrounds anymore — let alone wild spaces set aside for kids. Now, it’s all plastic and rubberized flooring. A kid falls from 30 feet and the only problem is her shirt wrinkles.
I wish more cities had these play wonderlands. Greg mentions that one of the problems with them — well, besides the tetanus — is that moms complained because they couldn’t see their kids while sitting and chatting. Sorry, kid — coffee comes before creative play.
Are you in favor of these open spaces for kids, or the new, remodeled playgrounds?
[Photo: Arnold Eagle and David Robbins]
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I think now you would have to sign a waiver to allow your kids to play anywhere. Sue-happy people ruined everything for the rest of us.
OK, I can kind of understand where you are coming from. However, I often cringe when I hear the old “in my day, we did all these crazy things, and now kids are way too coddled, protected, etc. I’m sure our parents said the same things about us, and our grandparents about their kids. And yet, our species continues to survive.
In our litigious society, you really can’t expect too many “dangerous” places for kids to play.
Also, I kind of resent the sarcastic comment about moms not being able to see their kids from the bench. My son is a hurricane, and never sits still. If I can sit for even 2 minutes at the playground while watching him, I am extremely grateful. And if I let him out of my sight and he was injured, I’m sure there would be a post discussing what a terrible mom I was for neglecting my kid. (These tend to go back and forth with comments about how we are all helicopter parents. You really cannot win.)
It sounds like you can laugh at it now, back in a “safe” environment and that’s when the accident happens! (Hope he’s ok!)
On a recent trip to San Francisco we took our three boys to the adventure playground in Berkley. All day long my one and a half year old zoomed around like a crazy man with me in pursuit, climbing things he shouldn’t have, learning to use spray paint, working on his hammering skills and basically scaring me to death. We had a great time. When we got back to our clean safe fancy hotel he jumped off the bed (imitating his brothers) and had to go to the ER for stitches!
I wish we had an adventure playground here, because maybe the boys wouldn’t be so hell bent on turning my house into one!!