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> 'Please do not climb on this artifact. It's not safe.' ... > offer a lot of challenging and also risky play, which is a good thing tricky thing, that. "risky

> 'Please do not climb on this artifact. It's not safe.' ... > offer a lot of challenging and also risky play, which is a good thing tricky thing, that. "risky play is good" followed by "don't play on it, it's not safe". I suppose in this particular case it's because it's rusted all to hell, but I can't help but think of all the play grounds I played on as a child that were bulldozed and named "unsafe". I'm curious - what's the modern version of this "risky play"? You see someone swing across the monkey bars, but your grip strength and arm reach isn't good enough, you fall, you cry, repeat. 4 months later you're the fastest monkey in the playground. What's the modern "risky play is good but only if it's safe" version of this?

jareklupinski 3y ago
> swing across the monkey bars, but your grip strength and arm reach isn't good enough, you fall, you cry, repeat. 4 months later you're the fastest replacing the asphalt i fell on with rubber or something soft would probably make it take 6 months, but would also remove the 'cry' managing risk through minimizing losses _when_ they happen
- Aeolun 3y ago
  I don’t think ‘cry’ is a problem in the context of a playground? As long as they don’t suffer permanent damage anyhow. Like, I’ve seen kids literally keep going until one of them cries, because naturally that’s the only decent stopping point.
  - jareklupinski 3y ago
    we did definitely, but i think we may have over-estimated the minimum requirements of a 'teachable moment' and can afford to experiment with dialing it back a few notches maybe a lunchtime or exhaustion can signal end-of-play
    - inanutshellus 3y ago
      Putting asphalt below a jungle gym is hilariously inept, so don't do that, but... if nobody's crying, it implies nobody's pushing themselves past their comfort zone and learning that success is possible. Where I'm going is that a child developed with every safety net deployed becomes a fearful, anxious teen / adult, which, in turn is the foundation of a timid, fear-based society. Modern playgrounds of sufficient size will have some room for growth ("this area is for children under 5, this area is for...") but... I actually wonder... how much more popular would playgrounds be if there were adult playgrounds mixed in with kiddy ones? Like a set of monkey bars that're 12 feet up and assume you have a 5ft reach, etc. where it normalizes play for adults... thus we adults demonstrate skill, and reasonable risk-taking to our children while having a great time and exercising too.
staplers 3y ago
Some new playgrounds near me have implemented recycled rubber matting on the surface (mitigate falls) while having difficult to climb/traverse shapes/ropes/etc on a slight slope without being too high off the ground. Kids seem to enjoy them and it certainly provides problem-solving exercises for the body.
graphe 3y ago
Play game like GTA and reload your save. In real life everything risky is online now, it's similar to the "game" of downloading discord and baiting child predators them into giving you free things.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Clubber 3y ago
>I'm curious - what's the modern version of this "risky play"? Touching grass. >You see someone swing across the monkey bars, but your grip strength and arm reach isn't good enough, you fall, you cry, repeat. 4 months later you're the fastest monkey in the playground. I did this, we'd have contests to see how far someone could jump and grab the furthest cross bar. I overestimated my abilities and got the wind knocked the hell out of me. It was over sand though.
Fricken 3y ago
Skateparks offer many tacitly permitted opportunities for excessive physical risk taking amongst the young.
avery17 3y ago
Rock climbing is taking off.
- ghaff 3y ago
  I just heard that from a 20-something a few weeks ago. Personally, I've never been very good although I do hike and even do winter stuff. Though rock climbing done properly isn't especially dangerous at sane levels. It also has the advantage of being doable at either climbing gyms (which I assume are quite safe) as well as on real rock walls.
nemo44x 3y ago
We have various structures at a local playground that pose risk. I have a very adept and risk curious toddler who makes his way across a cargo net semispherethat reaches 12’ high at the peak. It drives me nuts. But he can do it and although I don’t offer help I do stand below in case he falls or gets stuck to catch him. It’s intended for 6+ and with stronger muscles and longer arms it’s safer. But still a risk.

jareklupinski 3y ago

> swing across the monkey bars, but your grip strength and arm reach isn't good enough, you fall, you cry, repeat. 4 months later you're the fastest replacing the asphalt i fell on with rubber or something soft would probably make it take 6 months, but would also remove the 'cry' managing risk through minimizing losses _when_ they happen

Aeolun 3y ago
I don’t think ‘cry’ is a problem in the context of a playground? As long as they don’t suffer permanent damage anyhow. Like, I’ve seen kids literally keep going until one of them cries, because naturally that’s the only decent stopping point.
- jareklupinski 3y ago
  we did definitely, but i think we may have over-estimated the minimum requirements of a 'teachable moment' and can afford to experiment with dialing it back a few notches maybe a lunchtime or exhaustion can signal end-of-play
  - inanutshellus 3y ago
    Putting asphalt below a jungle gym is hilariously inept, so don't do that, but... if nobody's crying, it implies nobody's pushing themselves past their comfort zone and learning that success is possible. Where I'm going is that a child developed with every safety net deployed becomes a fearful, anxious teen / adult, which, in turn is the foundation of a timid, fear-based society. Modern playgrounds of sufficient size will have some room for growth ("this area is for children under 5, this area is for...") but... I actually wonder... how much more popular would playgrounds be if there were adult playgrounds mixed in with kiddy ones? Like a set of monkey bars that're 12 feet up and assume you have a 5ft reach, etc. where it normalizes play for adults... thus we adults demonstrate skill, and reasonable risk-taking to our children while having a great time and exercising too.

staplers 3y ago

Some new playgrounds near me have implemented recycled rubber matting on the surface (mitigate falls) while having difficult to climb/traverse shapes/ropes/etc on a slight slope without being too high off the ground. Kids seem to enjoy them and it certainly provides problem-solving exercises for the body.

graphe 3y ago

Play game like GTA and reload your save. In real life everything risky is online now, it's similar to the "game" of downloading discord and baiting child predators them into giving you free things.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Clubber 3y ago

>I'm curious - what's the modern version of this "risky play"? Touching grass. >You see someone swing across the monkey bars, but your grip strength and arm reach isn't good enough, you fall, you cry, repeat. 4 months later you're the fastest monkey in the playground. I did this, we'd have contests to see how far someone could jump and grab the furthest cross bar. I overestimated my abilities and got the wind knocked the hell out of me. It was over sand though.

Fricken 3y ago

Skateparks offer many tacitly permitted opportunities for excessive physical risk taking amongst the young.

avery17 3y ago

Rock climbing is taking off.

ghaff 3y ago
I just heard that from a 20-something a few weeks ago. Personally, I've never been very good although I do hike and even do winter stuff. Though rock climbing done properly isn't especially dangerous at sane levels. It also has the advantage of being doable at either climbing gyms (which I assume are quite safe) as well as on real rock walls.

nemo44x 3y ago

We have various structures at a local playground that pose risk. I have a very adept and risk curious toddler who makes his way across a cargo net semispherethat reaches 12’ high at the peak. It drives me nuts. But he can do it and although I don’t offer help I do stand below in case he falls or gets stuck to catch him. It’s intended for 6+ and with stronger muscles and longer arms it’s safer. But still a risk.