Built playgrounds are boring!

It started when I was on a church committee that wanted to re-do our playground. We are landlocked by urban development and spaces that cannot be developed as a permanent play space because they provide income from seasonal parking for football- that most sacred of games. This is a tiny space, mind you. The whole area is only about 24' x 15' wtih significant safety hazards and outdated residential equipment that was essentially taking up over 60% of the playable space. (More on that in an upcoming post). Since the space backs up to our nursery and toddler rooms, it was determined that this would be designed as a play space for ages 0 - 5. First the committee said, we have a little bit of money we want to spend. "We thought we should buy a climber." I cringed. Then I sighed.

If this is your line of thinking, or if you are trying to persuade others why other alternatives should be included, here are some reasons why a climber may not be the first thing you want to spend your money on:

1) They only foster one kind of play, at the expense of others

Playgrounds may be the most dangerous place you take your kids. Some believe this is because they only lend themselves to one way play. You climb up, then you climb out, then you fall off. After the brain and body has utilized the equipment the intended way a few times it gets bored and tries to give itself new challenge. This is when the equipment gets used, say by the third visit, in ways outside of what the manufactures intended it for. This is how my own son broke his arm- climbing on the outside of the tube slide to battle his friend, who then pushed him off.
Also play structures work on the development of gross motor play, but only a small subset of that, but do little to foster fine motor skills, emotional development, or imaginative play. On most play structures kids can not easily skip, there is little to push or pull, they can not lift loads across the playspace. Kids can not perceive differences in heavy or light or different kinds of sensations. There is very little pinching, handwriting, threading. It is harder to invite a friend to tea on the top of the slide, or to include very many friends in the top of your tower. And since the essence of imaginative play is loose parts- those bits that can be structured and restructured into infinite creatures, emotions, role-play, costumes, vehicles, counters, or alphabets- it is disappointing when there are few to be found besides wood chips. These areas also are usually designed for a very specific targeted age range and are inappropriate or even dangerous for other siblings who may find themselves playing at the same location.

2) They demand very expensive materials for filler and shading

If you decide that you are going to build a playground, the conversation will then turn to necessary fill requirements to make the space safe. Very quickly you will realize that your budget has been consumed annihilated to go towards rather boring materials such as pea gravel, poured rubber, rubber tiles, artificial turf, or maybe wood chips, the later must be refilled annually to maintain safe fall heights. (Many areas on existing playgrounds have inadequate depth of filler to meet fall height and safety guidelines!) You may have started out wishing to have other things in your playspace: elements for art, music, bikes, cooking, or construction and find that at the end you have nothing left in budget or space except for making these giant, too often gaudy, rainbow colored industrial structures.

Additionally when most large playgrounds are built, one of the first things that is inevitably done is that trees are removed. Now you have no natural shade and natural play elements are removed. The exposed playground equipment gets hot! This makes the space more limited to certain hours or seasons for comfortable play to occur. Many pediatric and dermatological associations are also beginning to worry about the consequences of excessive sun exposure in young children. So shade sails, which often cover a very small part of the space, must be ordered.

3) They don't usually lend themselves to imitating nature in structure or function

With few exceptions, most playgrounds do not imitate or leave room for nature. How lovely though when there is a "nest" to climb into, a cave to go through, or a forest to lie in. In most playgrounds it is hard to find much which imitates  biological, chemical, or physical processes. There is not usually available water. Where are the life-cycles, evapotransporation, or melting? Does the space foster biodiversity or are the humans the only ones allowed? Are there rocks to turn over, layers to unearth, decomposition to witness?

The children hope so.