‘Adventure playgrounds’ just like the old days
New concept based on old idea that kids should be exposed to a safe form of risk
Five-year-old Elyzah is trying to figure out what she needs to put on a piece of wood to make it balance. More wood? The weight of her own body?
Her mother, Hafsa Khan, waves her off. “I trust you to make decisions,” she says.
Elyzah and her sisters, ages two and seven, are trying out an adventure playground.
The concept — messing around in the woods with fallen logs, sheets of fabric and a few pots and pans — would not be alien to anyone who grew up free-range in the middle part of the last century.
Today, adventure playgrounds — known as “junkyard playgrounds” in some cities — are part of an international
I’ve had kids ask, ‘What are the rules?’ When they understand that there are no rules, the play explodes.
movement to allow kids to take calculated risks, exercise their imaginations and get muddy.
This pop-up at Ottawa Forest and Nature School is part of a three-day outdoor play summit at Wesley Clover Parks in Kanata, a gathering of researchers, educators and advocates for outdoor play.
Kids need risky play and opportunities to see how far they can push things, said Mariana Brussoni, a University of British Columbia professor and researcher who specializes in risky play, injury prevention and perceptions of risk. She will be one of the speakers at the summit.
“We’re raising a generation of kids who don’t know how to gauge their own risks,” Brussoni says.
Adventure playgrounds are the opposite of manicured, and are decidedly lacking in esthetic standards.
In some adventure playgrounds, kids are allowed to start fires and play with hammers and nails.
The playgrounds use “loose parts” such as pieces of lumber, ropes and milk crates along with leaves, mud and sticks to create pretend food, forts, tents, even ziplines.
Helicopter parents are unwelcome and the playgrounds are lightly supervised by trained “play rangers.”
“I’ve had kids ask, ‘What are the rules?’ When they understand that there are no rules, the play explodes,” says Linda Naccarato, an education consultant with Earth Day Canada.
Less manicured playgrounds were once more common, but fear of injury compelled some cities to make changes.
Playgrounds have been made so safe that some kids think they’re boring, says Dr. Mark Tremblay, the director of healthy active living and obesity research at CHEO and chair of Outdoor Play Canada.
But staying indoors, where it is supposedly “safe,” has led to higher rates of depression, anxiety and obesity.
“The idea that parents have that the safest place to be is indoors is a myth,” Tremblay said. “It is not safe for your 14-year-old to be in her room, alone on the internet.”
North Americans are starting to pay attention to adventure playgrounds in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
There have been about 120 adventure playground pop-ups in Canada in the past three years, and a few run seasonally, but nothing permanent so far.
An adventure playground demands a commitment to space and a community willing to embrace the concept, Naccarato says.
“It’s hard to find a place where all the stars align.”
What about getting hurt?
“We talk about the difference between hurt and injury,” Naccarato said.
“Hurt happens all the time. It’s natural. An injury needs treatment. We see a lot of kids brushing it off and going back to play. This is what resilience looks like.”
Khan has been reading about adventure playgrounds and has even approached her city councillor about building one in Kanata.
“I love the idea of kids being able to manipulate playgrounds instead of there just being fixed space. The idea is to make your own decisions and embrace the idea of risk and being able to trust your own instincts,” she says.
“They will make mistakes. They will probably have to problem-solve. That’s the magic of this play.”
There are benefits for grownups, too. Adopting the philosophy means adults have licence not to hover.
“I tell my friends, ‘We’re going to neglect our children together,’” Khan said. “I’ve corrupted so many of my neighbours. ” jlaucius@postmedia.com