Playground challenge -v- safety

A recently released report that discusses outside play ...

One from Helen Little, Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University Sydney - www.pecerajournal.com/Pecera_Journal/Journal_2010_files/1.pdf.

The report discusses the tensions between providing children with risk and challenge in their outside play environments - and - the aim of regulators to restrict children's exposure to hazards.

The report includes results from a survey of early childhood practitioners which found that while practitioners believed in the importance of providing 'risky' play opportunities, they felt constrained by the regulatory environment.
Helen included some discussion in relation to equipment height and fall zone requirments of the Australian Standards and the difficulties of providing a range of play options and ensuring adequate safe fall zones.

I would like to acknowledge that although providing risky play can appear to contradict the aims of the Standards, it is still possible. In fact, the Standards themselves acknowledge children's need for 'risky' play.

Slopes and mounds can provide height without the need for safety surfacing and also allow 'out of control' somersaults for example. Rocks and boulders can be used to retain the slope and become a climbing challenge. I would also like to point out that in most circumstances, fall zones can overlap, suggesting a possible misinterpretation of the Standards among early childhood professionals and possibly regulatory inspectors.

Another important point to make is that the Standards also provide clear design guidance about contouring and landscaping -

AS 2155-1982, 4.3 Landscaping – A flat featureless & treeless playground should be avoided. Wherever possible the natural landscape & suitable trees should be retained.
AS/NZS 4486.1:1997, 7.2.3.5 Design of playground – Where a site is deficient in natural assets the design should provide contouring, grassing, planting with appropriate shrubs & trees, screening & variety of surfaces and changes of level.

These are important requirements that are often neglected.

A Problem of Perception

A story from the Summer Edition of Play England's Play Today magazine...

A survey by the national charities Parentline Plus and Living Streets, as part of the national Walk to School Week campaign, found that a majority of parents fear their child being abducted or killed in a road accident over the more likely threat to their health from childhood inactivity leading to obesity. Results revealed that 30 per cent of parents feared the abduction or murder of their child while only five per cent expressed concern
over their child’s poor health later in life due to current levels of childhood inactivity.

These figures greatly contrast the statistics that show that the actual threat of a child being abducted or murdered by a stranger is one in one million, whereas a child’s risk of severe health issues and mortality as a result of lack of physical exercise is one in three.

How sad that parents have been so convinced that "strangers" are lurking behind every shrub to abduct their kids that they have protected them to the point of jeopardising their future health from lack of exercise.

Arguments for Natural Playgrounds

Adam Bienenstock, Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, Canada has articulated the case for natural playgrounds in a recent article in the Canadian Child Care Federation's Interaction magazine. He reminds us that the evidence is clear about the long term benefits for children from exposure to natural play environments - and natural play advocates are moving from the fringe into the mainstream.

In Australia, the Early Years Learning Framework, soon to be implemented across early childhood education and care settings, includes a focus on supporting children's connection to the natural world.

Since the Kidsafe Playground Conference - The Nature of Play (held in Perth in April)- many organisations have begun to re-think their playground ideas and find ways to enhance children's outside play environments with natural elements.

Read what he says at - http://tachedaycare.com/Articles/Case.pdf

Treating children with respect and dignity

Quotes from Jim Greenman
Jim Greenman is one of my favourites. He wrote about quality early childhood environments for many years and his messages are still so very relevant. I just came across some quotes from Jim that are worth sharing.

Privacy
Institutions allow little privacy, justified by the lack of space and the need for order and security to protect the members from themselves and each other. There is a very small personal zone, the area surrounding an individual that the individual can claim ("get outta my face"). There is often no way to own time or space, except perhaps during punishment. The child care equivalent: limited, secluded, or cozy areas.

There is in many areas a growing unfortunate simplistic tendency to confuse supervision with surveillance; the children must be under the observation of adults every second - thus large open spaces and no seclusion. This replaces the more sophisticated concept that supervision also includes a safe, planned "yes" environment, shared expectations, socialized children, and adults who are aware about what is happening without needing to become omniscient wardens.

Dignity and Respect
Institutions rarely leave much room (literally) for dignity and respect. Simple kindness is not enough to over-come the loss of individuality, privacy, and responsibility. Total institutions are not places where life is to be lived in all of its joy and drama. Joy and drama are too unwieldy. It is easier to turn day-to-day life into mostly pageant - ritual doings and observations. Drama has fire, the hint of chaos, sensuality, and intense moments of concentration and the intricate mini plays of social life. It is engagement with life. Thomas Merton commented once that civilization was heading toward lives of low definition with little to decide, an apt description of institutional living.

Total institutions arise not because of evil or ignorance, but out of legitimate concerns for order, smooth standard operations, and the well being of the inhabitants as a group. They become mindless as they lose sight of the individual and the real goals, the end goals, as they concentrate on the means. Order takes precedence over mental health in asylums, education in schools, rehabilitation in prisons, and childhood in those child care centres that fit the description.

Childhood depends on some precious formula of freedom and mess. Until institutionalized through child care, children in the most structured homes could usually break through the concrete web of good intentions and find the cracks, alive with possibilities for movement, exploration, and discovery-in the room, under the bed, in the back yard, on the stoop, alone or with friends. These were times when adult sanctions were weakened, allowing exploration of forbidden words with delicious hard consonant syllables and intriguing substances. These were times when space opened up rather than contained; and jumps, shouts, and giggles pierced the air. More centres can have the same feel by being alert to the dehumanizing tendencies that are ever-present.

The Nature of Play Conference

We thought we'd share some photos from our recent conference...

The weather and the venue for the Sundowner created a fantastic backdrop....
The Minister for Community Services, the Hon. Robyn McSweeney, opened the conference. The Minister grew up and spent many years in a small rural town in WA's South West. She shared
some of her childhood memories - often involving playing in nature.

Marie Taylor warmly welcomed us all to her 'country' ...

And our unflappable MC, Tim Long, made us look very professional and kept everyone laughing. Two of our keynote speakers - our very own Berndt Kaiser from here in WA and Helle Nebelong who managed to get here from Copenhagen ahead of the 'volcano' disruption - share a laugh ...

We remembered to keep 'play' always at the top of our Agenda...

Our Panel Discussion...
As we said our thanks and goodbyes - can't believe we're still laughing...

Nature Play: Why Sticks & Stones Rock!

Nature Play: Why Sticks & Stones Rock!
While our Playground Conference - focusing on nature-based play - was underway Danielle Marshall at KaBOOM! was interviewing Bethe Balmeras aka the Grass Stain Guru. Bethe talks about some of the current research highlighting the benefits of nature-based play for children.

Natural Play Spaces in the Media

I was very pleased to see on USA Today a story about the increasing trend towards natural play spaces - www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-04-22-EARTH_GreenPlaygrounds22_ST_N.htm?csp=34.

The article highlights some of the conflicting views of playground equipment manufacturers and natural play space advocates.

It should not have to be an either/or argument. In most circumstances, using a combination of manufactured equipment within a well-designed landscape can provide optimum benefits - that can also ensure children's safety remains paramount.

The article's final comment by Linda Cain Ruth does highlight the importance of maintenance and that the importance of implementing a rigorous maintenance schedule cannot be overstated. Whether the playground consists of all natural elements, manufactured equipment or a combination of both, playground managers must ensure that playgrounds are inspected for hazards regularly and that any necessary repairs are carried out promptly.

Families can also play a part in this. If there is anything that looks hazardous at the playground, let the playground manager know as soon as possible.