Playground

Combination playground structure for small children; slides, climbers (stairs in this case), playhouse

A playground or play area is an area designed for children to play freely, usually part of a school or public park. Playgrounds often also have facilities for playing informal games of adult sports, such as a baseball diamond, a skating rink, a basketball court, or a tether ball.

A type of playground called a playscape is designed to provide a safe environment for play in a natural setting.

Overview

Seesaw with a crowd of children playing

"Public" playground equipment refers to equipment intended for use in the play areas of parks, schools, child care facilities, institutions, multiple family dwellings, restaurants, resorts, and recreational developments, and other areas of public use. Modern playgrounds often have recreational equipment such as the see-saw, merry-go-round, swingset, slide, climber, walking bridge, jungle gym, chin-up bars, sandbox, spring rider, monkey bars, overhead ladder, trapeze rings, playhouses, and maze, many of which help children develop physical coordination, strength, and flexibility, as well as providing recreation and enjoyment. Common in modern playgrounds are "play structures" that link many different pieces of equipment.

Professionals recognize that the social skills that children develop on the playground become lifelong skill sets that are carried forward into their adulthood. Independent research concludes that playgrounds are among the most important environments for children outside the home. Most forms of play are essential for healthy development, but free, spontaneous play—the kind that occurs on playgrounds—is the most beneficial type of play.

Rope bridge for improving balance

Children have devised many playground games and pastimes. But because playgrounds are usually subject to adult supervision and oversight, young children's street culture often struggles to fully thrive there. Research has shown that playgrounds need to be balanced with marginal areas that (to adults) appear to be derelict or waste ground but to children they are area's that they can claim for themselves, ideally a wooded area or field. In response to this playscapes have emerged, which can provide children with the necessary feeling of ownership. Playscapes can also provide parents with the assurance of their child's safety and well-being, which may not be prevalent in an open field or wooded area.

History

Modern playgrounds in the U.S. developed from political and sociological movements in the late 19th and early 20th century, during which school safety and a push against the dangers of industrialization were being made, largely by women. Concerned mother organizations helped start charity works in which areas for playgrounds were set aside in urban environments so as to give children safe places to play. In the first few years of the twentieth century, the National Playground Association was helping to establish municipal parks and playgrounds, both in urban and rural environments, and it was not long before local and state governments started to mandate that public schools require safe facilities where students could socialize and play. Increased attention to the positive benefits of Physical education during the middle of the twentieth century helped to solidify the idea that physical activity is an integral part of a child's education, and soon afterwards playgrounds became staples in both public and private schools.

Playgrounds in other countries developed around the same time as the U.S. and for similar reasons. At the height of the Soviet Union, playgrounds were prolific in municipalities and schools. After World War II, many new playgrounds were developed during reconstruction. In some poorer and less developed countries, such as in Africa and South America, playgrounds are not as numerous nor as developed as in the industrialized world.

Playground safety

Sometimes the safety of playgrounds is disputed in school or among regulators. Over at least the last twenty years, the kinds of equipment to be found in playgrounds has changed, often towards safer equipment built with modern materials. For example, an older jungle gym might be constructed entirely from steel bars, while newer ones tend to have a minimal steel framework while providing a web of nylon ropes for children to climb on. Often, playgrounds with equipment that children may fall off of has mulch on the ground to help break children's falls. Rubber mulch is gaining popularity due to its added ability to break falls.

A study done by the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that playground injuries were responsible for 23 visits a day to emergency rooms in Ontario, Canada. The largest proportion of these visits were for orthopedic and head injuries (51% and 22% respectively.)

In the United States the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American National Standards Institute have created a Standardized Document and Training System for certification of Playground Safety Inspectors. These regulations are nation wide and provide a basis for safe playground installation and maintenance practices. A.S.T.M. 1487-05 deals with specific guidelines regarding issues such as play ground layout, use zones, and various test criteria for determining play ground safety. A Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) is a career that was developed by the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) and is recognized nationally by the National Recreation and Park Association (N.R.P.A.)

EN 1177 of the European Committee for Standardization specifies the requirements for surfaces used in playgrounds. For each material type and height of equipment it specifies a minimum depth of material required. EN 1176 covers playground equipment standards.

Plyscapes

A natural playground sandbox using creative landforms provides a place for Passive / Creative Play.

Playscapes are play environments that blend natural materials, features, and indigenous vegetation with creative landforms to create purposely complex interplays of natural, environmental objects in ways that challenge and fascinate children and teach them about the wonders and intricacies of the natural world while they play within it.

A totally accessible natural playground creates a beautiful, outdoor play and learning environment.

Play components may include earth shapes (sculptures), environmental art, indigenous vegetation (trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, lichens, mosses), boulders or other rock structures, dirt and sand, natural fences (stone, willow, wooden), textured pathways, and natural water features.

For a playground to be considered a "playscape" the space should be as natural as possible, with as little man made components. Using native plants, rolling hills, lots of trees; playscapes represent a natural place such as a forest. Playscapes are designed with the intent of bringing children and people back to nature. Playscapes offer a wide range of open-ended play options that allow children to be creative and use their imagination. Playscapes offer a wide range of developmental benefits to children, rehabilitation programs and all people in general.

Playscape Safety

Playscapes have a fraction of the number of child injuries compared to standard playgrounds with play structures. The most frequent injury to children on playgrounds is a fracture of the upper limb resulting from falls from climbing apparatus's. Playscapes combat the issue of fall heights by using topography changes for children to climb and experience changes in height. Companies in Canada have made strides in reducing fall height by using topography as a main feature in their designs. Topography changes allow designers to be creative when placing components in the playscape.

Developmental Benefits

Playscapes offer a wide range of benefits such as increasing physical activity, fine and gross motor skills & cognitive development. They are also used in horticultural therapy for rehabilitation of mental and/or physical ailment. They increase participation rates and decrease absenteeism, decrease bullying, decrease injury rates, increase focus and attention span and help with social skills in schools. Playscape have shown to increase children's level of physical activity, and motor ability. Playscapes are found to be very beneficial in the growth and development of children both mentally and physically. Cognitive development, focus, attention span and social skills are all improved.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Fissel, D., Pattison, G., and Howard, A. (2005). “Severity of playground fractures: play equipment versus standing height falls.” Injury Prevention. 11: 337-339.
• Fjortoft, I., and Sageie, J. (2000). “The Natural Environment as a Playground for Children: Landscape Description and Analysis of a Natural Landscape.” Landscape and Urban Planning. 48(1/2): 83-97.
• Herrington, S., and Studtmann, K. (1998). “Landscape Interventions: New Directions for the Design of Children’s Outdoor Play Environments.” Landscape and Urban Planning. 42(2-4): 191-205.
• Malone, K., and Tranter, P. (2003). “Children’s Environmental Learning and the Use, Design and Management of School grounds.” Children, Youth and Environments. 13(2).
• Soderback, I., Soderstrom, M., and Schalander, E. (2004). “Horticultural therapy: the ‘healing garden’ and gardening in rehabilitation measures at Danderyd Hospital Rehabilitation Clinic, Sweden.” Pediatric Rehabilitation. 7(4): 245-260.
• Wells, N. (2000). “At home with nature Effects of “Greenness” on Children’s Cognitive Functioning.” Environment and Behaviour. 32(6): 775-795.

External links

• IPEMA International Playground Equipment Manufacturer's Association
• NPCAI International Playground Contractors Association — a non-profit trade association of commercial playground builders and associated organizations
• National Program for Playground Safety — serves as a recognized national U.S. clearinghouse for playground safety information
• KaBOOM! Playspace Finder — a searchable database of playgrounds in the U.S.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Playground  ^history
• Playscape  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Playground"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.