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We’re walking with our children to school, the shops, well anywhere,and pass a low garden wall – why do young children feel compelled to use it as a tightrope?
Well it’s not (just) a plot to make us late, but is a vital function to help even the youngest walkers experiment with risk. Here at Morti Sport and Play, we know that an appropriate levels of risk and challenge are a necessary part of the play experience. Skills that are learnt though play help children to manage risk in their lives, and hold more resilience towards everyday encounters.
When we approach a play area design, the layout of the area and the selection of equipment is carefully considered to provide all children with the thrill of achievement of overcoming a challenging task. Even our low trim trail balance beams are a defying feat for the youngest children.
Older children are programmed by nature to climb higher,spin faster, swing faster as they learn to master physical skills. It’s an innate characteristic of teenagers to push boundaries as a way of forging their place in the world.
In general over the last four decades, children’s opportunities to play outdoors have declined. Adult supervision is more common place, with children less likely to explore the local area independently in a culture of increased wariness. The long recognised trend of children becoming more sedentary in the face of screen time adds to the lack of time spent outdoors. Play provisions need to compete with these and others factors to engage children, to get them excited about being outdoors to test their bravery and physical limits, and to explore the world around them.
Parental anxieties about injury linked to playgrounds are understandable, and there is a natural breadth of opinion about what is acceptable risk. As play providers we create areas that offer appropriate levels of challenge, so children aren’t so likely to seek out a thrills in unsuitable or even dangerous places. Exposing themselves to risk within a more controlled environment helps children learn how to assess risk, and prepares them for the hazards of the wider world.
Of course our priority is to balance the exposure of risk with the safety of children. Our equipment is designed to strict standards to mitigate injury, our recommended safety surfaces are laid to reduce impact from falling where necessary, plus the whole play area is laid out to prevent clashing of dynamic activities. It is not possible to make any playspace completely safe, to try and do so would render the play area an uninspiring failure.
The official guidelines (‘Managing Risk In Play Provision: Implementation Guide’. By Play England, 2008) detail that there are good risks and bad, which are broadly as you may expect. Bad risks are those that are too hard for children to assess themselves and serve no obvious play value benefit, or are due to cause harm. Bumps, scrapes and bruises are deemed acceptable, children learn more from hands on experience,including encountering difficulty.
If you would like to chat through how your play area project can balance these concepts, please get in contact and we’ll be happy to discuss your ideas.
We have offices in Somerset Dorset and Buckinghamshire feel free to contact us on 01278 741 110 or email info@mortisportandplay.co.uk
