5 ms·

I don't know, kids these days. You should have seen what we had to contend with in the 60s - huge lumps of flesh mangling metal, swinging at terrifying angles,

I don't know, kids these days. You should have seen what we had to contend with in the 60s - huge lumps of flesh mangling metal, swinging at terrifying angles, throwing small children off in all directions. And no wimpy rubber mats to catch them. Sometimes, I wonder that I survived.

123pie123 4y ago
reminds me of when I was a kid in the UK, there was these places that was called 'funhouses' where kids was supposed to play, I was seriously terrified of dying. I'm unsure if it's my memory and/or if I was just too young
- swimfar 4y ago
  I've heard stories from relatives about a funhouse like that on Coney Island. Supposedly there was a dark maze section with clowns that would walk around and shock you. As I got older I assumed some of it had to be made up. But at least part of the story is corroborated in this article about the Steeplechase Park: https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/steeplechase2.htm https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/steeplechase2....
  - 123pie123 4y ago
    thanks - I wonder how many unrecorded near deaths or injuries there where - I'm assuming back then if you complained you was classed as a coward - different world!
- zabzonk 4y ago
  don't know about funhouse, but playgrounds were very scary. the most scary one, which would intimadate a brave man (amongst whom i was living - RAF pilots) was called "the boat" (if i remember correctly) which was a steel plank (which you sat on), supported by 4 steel struts, attached, swiveling, to a steel frame. it took some effort to get this monster swinging (like sitting on a normal swing and doing the stuff you do) but once it got going the momentum was tremendous. there was limiting mechanism to stop it going over the top. most kids too terrified to ride it to that point (humiliating admission: i was too scared). the other scary thing you could do with it was to grab hold of the plank on the up-swing, which would boost you high in the air. you had to have a nice touch of judgement on where you let go, if you didn't want multiple broken bones.
ianlevesque 4y ago
Literally survivor bias!
munchler 4y ago
I took a steel see-saw to the face on one of those playgrounds in the 1970’s. My little sister pulled her end down, which caused my end to shoot up unexpectedly. Ouch. Ruined my day for sure.
- zabzonk 4y ago
  [flagged]
- grogenaut 4y ago
  I let my brother (6?) unsupervised for one minute and some much larger kid got on the other side jumped up and when they came back down my brothers face smashed into the metal pipe handle bars splitting his lip wide open, he came right over streaming blood, I was 8, so I immediately went to find mom and dad who were doing champion hunting dog obedience qualifiers and I think I saw dad first who was actually showing the dog at the time and walked into the show area to get him. Immediately to the hospital. Pretty sure dad was non-plussed but also pouring blood.
screwturner68 4y ago
maybe it's just my old man memory but when I was young in the 70's there was always one or two kids in a cast, usually a broken arm -it was a bit of a badge of honor and something for everyone to sign. Now I almost never see a kid in a cast maybe medicine has gotten a lot better and things seem to have had the entire danger aspect removed from them. I wonder if play today is boring or there is so much safety that kids don't think anything about doing something stupid since they can't get hurt.
- runnerup 4y ago
  90’s as well. Lots of casts. I didn’t get one so I’m not sure how to judge the risk-reward.
- loganc2342 4y ago
  As a 2000s/2010s kid, I would word it the same way you did: “there was always one or two kids in a cast.” If your wording is accurate to your experience then I don’t think much has changed. If you don’t physically work in a school then it’s a tough pattern to monitor.
  - screwturner68 4y ago
    I'm looking at a grade school right now, I watch kids come and go all day long but yes I don't have backing statistics.
- johannes1234321 4y ago
  I won't judge how the risk and injuries has changed. But medicine changed. The strict tied cascing is done less and for shorter periods these days. There are lighter and smaller orthoses these days, which can be worn under clothing and allow some flexibility.
- jkepler 4y ago
  I heard a researcher speaking on how litigation against playground owners in the 1970s in the USA over injuries and in one case a child fatality drove the more stringent playground regulations. However, the unintended consequence was an increase in children's long bone injuries, and her research suggested that this is due to kids not learning to navigate risk on the "safer" playgrounds and eventually getting injured elsewhere where the ground isn't forgiving like all the artificial playground surfaces. Take you kids to play in the woods!

123pie123 4y ago

reminds me of when I was a kid in the UK, there was these places that was called 'funhouses' where kids was supposed to play, I was seriously terrified of dying. I'm unsure if it's my memory and/or if I was just too young

swimfar 4y ago
I've heard stories from relatives about a funhouse like that on Coney Island. Supposedly there was a dark maze section with clowns that would walk around and shock you. As I got older I assumed some of it had to be made up. But at least part of the story is corroborated in this article about the Steeplechase Park: https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/steeplechase2.htm https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/steeplechase2....
- 123pie123 4y ago
  thanks - I wonder how many unrecorded near deaths or injuries there where - I'm assuming back then if you complained you was classed as a coward - different world!
zabzonk 4y ago
don't know about funhouse, but playgrounds were very scary. the most scary one, which would intimadate a brave man (amongst whom i was living - RAF pilots) was called "the boat" (if i remember correctly) which was a steel plank (which you sat on), supported by 4 steel struts, attached, swiveling, to a steel frame. it took some effort to get this monster swinging (like sitting on a normal swing and doing the stuff you do) but once it got going the momentum was tremendous. there was limiting mechanism to stop it going over the top. most kids too terrified to ride it to that point (humiliating admission: i was too scared). the other scary thing you could do with it was to grab hold of the plank on the up-swing, which would boost you high in the air. you had to have a nice touch of judgement on where you let go, if you didn't want multiple broken bones.

ianlevesque 4y ago

Literally survivor bias!

munchler 4y ago

I took a steel see-saw to the face on one of those playgrounds in the 1970’s. My little sister pulled her end down, which caused my end to shoot up unexpectedly. Ouch. Ruined my day for sure.

zabzonk 4y ago
[flagged]
grogenaut 4y ago
I let my brother (6?) unsupervised for one minute and some much larger kid got on the other side jumped up and when they came back down my brothers face smashed into the metal pipe handle bars splitting his lip wide open, he came right over streaming blood, I was 8, so I immediately went to find mom and dad who were doing champion hunting dog obedience qualifiers and I think I saw dad first who was actually showing the dog at the time and walked into the show area to get him. Immediately to the hospital. Pretty sure dad was non-plussed but also pouring blood.

screwturner68 4y ago

maybe it's just my old man memory but when I was young in the 70's there was always one or two kids in a cast, usually a broken arm -it was a bit of a badge of honor and something for everyone to sign. Now I almost never see a kid in a cast maybe medicine has gotten a lot better and things seem to have had the entire danger aspect removed from them. I wonder if play today is boring or there is so much safety that kids don't think anything about doing something stupid since they can't get hurt.

runnerup 4y ago
90’s as well. Lots of casts. I didn’t get one so I’m not sure how to judge the risk-reward.
loganc2342 4y ago
As a 2000s/2010s kid, I would word it the same way you did: “there was always one or two kids in a cast.” If your wording is accurate to your experience then I don’t think much has changed. If you don’t physically work in a school then it’s a tough pattern to monitor.
- screwturner68 4y ago
  I'm looking at a grade school right now, I watch kids come and go all day long but yes I don't have backing statistics.
johannes1234321 4y ago
I won't judge how the risk and injuries has changed. But medicine changed. The strict tied cascing is done less and for shorter periods these days. There are lighter and smaller orthoses these days, which can be worn under clothing and allow some flexibility.
jkepler 4y ago
I heard a researcher speaking on how litigation against playground owners in the 1970s in the USA over injuries and in one case a child fatality drove the more stringent playground regulations. However, the unintended consequence was an increase in children's long bone injuries, and her research suggested that this is due to kids not learning to navigate risk on the "safer" playgrounds and eventually getting injured elsewhere where the ground isn't forgiving like all the artificial playground surfaces. Take you kids to play in the woods!