The Perfect Playground is Worth the Risk
DYNAMO PLAYGROUNDS
World leader in innovative playground equipment that pushes the boundaries with every park.
Would you play a game if you knew that the other team would lose every time? The obvious answer is no. None of us would want to do that because there wouldn’t be any challenge. What would be the point if there wasn’t a risk of failure? Well, the same idea applies to commercial playground equipment.
Risk is a necessary part of play. It is the challenge that keeps things interesting, without being too easy. On a developmental level, the purpose of play is to safely learn how to function in society, to learn to assess risks and to make decisions about how to proceed. Children meet, interact and imagine together – testing out their interactions with each other, but also learning about themselves and their limits through playing in their environments.
While we can agree that actual hazards are dangerous, we can also agree that children have never been as monitored and regulated as they are now. Some of us remember how free we were as children. We could explore and discover our environment with other children, outside of the supervision of adults, so long as we returned when the streetlamps or porch light would go on.
Unfortunately, these freedoms are not usually given to the children of today. The wooded lot behind the house has long ago been developed into more housing, and the open spaces have become parking lots. The place for children to rediscover nature, explore and play are the parks and playgrounds of their communities.
Even the playgrounds that children have access to are strictly directed and limited of imagination and active play. A traditional, linear design sends a clear message: climb up here, turn the wheel, slide down, repeat. There is no room for deviation. The deck platforms are stationary, offering no change in the climbing experience.
The problem with this type of equipment is that without an element of challenge built into the game, children will ultimately create their own challenge, i.e. climbing up the slides, scaling the roof, etc. When children use the equipment in ways that were unintended, they increase the potential of injuring themselves.
This is where dynamic playground equipment like rope-based games come into play. By offering free, unstructured play on a fluid material, we at Dynamo Playgrounds provide children with opportunities to have unique experiences while playing and climbing on the equipment.
When children encounter a 20+ foot net, they feel challenged. They look at it and might think, “That’s pretty high”, or “This is hard to climb with other kids on it”, but when they eventually work towards reaching the top, there is an intense feeling of satisfaction. They may scale it on the first attempt, or they may need to come back a few times, climbing a bit higher each time until they reach the top.
Even though our equipment can look intimidating, everything that we are creating is compliant to the strictest safety standards. Any real hazards are removed in the design process; and what remains is the challenge we get from perceived risk. This encourages children and teens to test their limits, push themselves further and grow as people with fit bodies and fit minds.
Interested in adding some challenge and excitement to your next playground? Reach out to our team at Dynamo Playgrounds, and let’s build something great together!
Written by: Jaclyn Vanderzon
About Dynamo Playgrounds:
A leader in innovative playground equipment, Dynamo creates the safest, most durable and fun playground equipment in the world. To find out more about Dynamo Playgrounds and how our masterful engineering and stunning designs capture the imagination of children around the world, visit us at www.dynamoplaygrounds.com