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Blog: Remembering My Childhood PlaygroundPosted by: Lindsay Hansen at Apr 27, 2011 12:00 AM CDT Keywords: Education
Do you remember your childhood playground? I do. It was a grand castle, replete with everything that translated to fun, excitement, curiosity and sheer joy for a child. I remember finally getting the courage to slide down “the one”—the super swirly slide which spun you around so many times, the trees, sky and rest of the playground became an absolute blur. I also remember finally getting “the hang” of the monkey bars. What an accomplishment that was—I felt like I had nothing left to learn in this life once I had mastered the hanging ladders, as I used to call them. As fun as it is to recall my playground at Park Road Elementary School, I can also remember, at times, how dangerous it was! It was hardly newsworthy when Amanda got a severe cut from a nail protruding out on the playground deck, or Sam fell off the super swirly slide that was too steep and too fast for one’s own good Thankfully, today it’s different. Many playgrounds in schools, parks, and backyards are built with construction materials that are much safer for our little play warriors, including the playground surfacing; such as shredded rubber, mulch, wood chips or sand. Playground Safety Week April 25-29, is a great reminder and an opportunity for us all—parents, teachers, school administrators, and community educators—to continue to advocate for safe playgrounds. This could mean making sure playground equipment is inspected frequently and kept in good repair. If it's not, you can report this to your local parks and recreation office. If you’d like to learn more about what constitutes a safe playground—and what doesn’t, you can explore our website. You’ll find safety tips, checklists and other helpful resources on playground safety. Be sure to check it out, and next time, when you drive by your childhood playground or any other park playground, stop by and notice how different -- and hopefully better -- it is now. And don’t forget to hop on one of those upside down ladders, just to make sure you’ve still got the hang of it. More About Playground Safety
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