Playground Safety

I came across this article today while checking out the news and it got me to thinking about playground safety. More and more I am starting to hear advocacy groups speak up on childrens' play and I feel that while safety is in general wise, too much is certainly stifling. I look on this issue much the same way that I look on safety scissors. I definitely am not going to give my 4 or 5 year old my sharp scissors (especially not my sewing ones! ), but at the same time I have seen some "ultra safe" brands that are so dull that they are not fit for the tasks which my sons need to accomplish.

It's the same with play. There are certain physical skills each child needs to master and oftentimes playground games and equipment do a remarkable job of aiding this process. I am all for safe surfaces (the rubber mats and etc.) but I am not going to throw out swings, monkeybars, tag, and running altogether as a few loud extremists would like. (I had the experience when I was teaching in which a parent was angry that we let them run at recess because her son had fallen in the field, hit a rock, and bruised his knee.) Some are astounded that we let our 5 year old climb trees - we have a few ground rules and it is done under supervision, but it is not forbidden. I think that if parents supervise in general and have a little common sense, we can achieve a healthy balance in this area. Accidents will still happen, but even more so we will have physically capable children who will thrive.