3 ms·
> 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
by 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 agoI 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 agowe 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 agoPutting 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.