PLAYLINK / Free Play Network

TURKEY TWIZZLERS

I love the Jamie Oliver comparison.
From where I stand many commentators on play are trying to get young children to "eat their greens" by playing energetically (and burning calories)in "natural playgrounds". The challenge for designers of settings and equipment is to make an area that is magnetically attractive for children and young people and which keeps them playing. We have to accept that we are competing with video games that have won the battle for the attention of our young people.
So our challenge is to create fantastic play spaces,perhaps incorporating new technology, that win the battle for the the attention of our youth. I am sorry "natural playgrounds" just won't cut it.
Posted by: Robert Goss, MD, KOMPAN, -1 June 2020, 2-:19

There are probably different roles for play with electronic gadgets and play in the external environment. Without going in to too much detail I will just say that there is increasing evidence from research that play in the natural environment is beneficial for children. There is even research which shows that play in green environments has a benefit for children with ADD. On the other hand a piece of research published only last month identified incresed autism with children watching more tv etc.......

If you are not convinced look at Robin Moore's Natural Learning Institute web site at the Uiversity of North Carolina and a literature review about wild adventure play on the OPEN Space web site at Edinburgh College of Art/Heriott Watt University.
Posted by: Helen Woolley, Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield, -1 June 2020, 1-:24

To say that " Natural Playgrounds" just won't cut it. Sounds like someone protecting their own commercial interests rather than someone truely concerned with the best solutions for creative and safe play opportunities. All Natural play environments versus all Equipment Based play areas, the correct approaches and solutions will probably include the best elements of both. Let the children be our guide.
Posted by: Bob Meihaus, owner, Playground Consulting and Design, -1 June 2020, 1-:21

I'm afraid you lost me on that last post Bernard ?????????
Posted by: Paddy Mulligan, Outreach Play Development Officer, PlaySpaces, -1 June 2020, 1-:17

It seems to me that we need to exercise the utmost caution when considering the role of videos, electronic gizmos etc in terms of places for play (as distinct from places full of videos and electronic gizmos, for which there is no doubt a name - funfairs and arcades come to mind as possible candidates).

We need also to interrogate the language we use and the implications it carries: in what sense, in Robert's opening comment, are play places 'competing' with videoes? What relevence has the language of the market here, and why might think we are in a 'battle' for children's attention?

And if it is a 'battle', will we have won if lots of children and young people watch lots more videos or played more computer games? Or might we have merely succumbed to mistaken notions about our responsibilities as adults to children and young people, and tissue-packaged our errors in the restricted vocabularly of choice, consultation, and popularity.
Posted by: Benard Spiegal, Principal, PLAYLINK, -1 June 2020, 1-:16

Roberts’s comments did start me thinking, and on some levels I think he may have a point. If we are to create fantastic play spaces then maybe we do need to start thinking fantastically. As a Playworker I always fought to try to get the latest technology in my play setting. Not because I wanted rows of zombie like children playing video games, but if that’s what your into and you know there’s somewhere you can have a go of the latest console/gadget/gizmo/game then your going to go along, and while your there waiting for your turn guess what? There are a lot of other things going on as well, some of which you might have a go at and enjoy. I hope you see my point.
So what if we could take this idea out into the playgrounds??
Have you seen that giant floor piano in the film ‘BIG’ imagine that in your playground? Kids like playing on rocks, but what if those rocks lit up when you sat on them to provide illumination at night? Have you ever put a video camera hooked up to a screen in front of a group of kids? They love playing about in front of it. So why not on a giant screen in the park? How about a basketball hoop that kept score for you?
All this in the park that also houses the winding path through bushes so those who arrive by bike can ride through and around the coppiced hazel dell.
We are only limited by our imagination………………………..
Well actually we are really limited by our budgets, maintenance costs and the fear that it might not be seen as natural play.
Yes I do believe that children should spend more time outdoors, getting fresh air and running around (otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this job) but if it takes a button to push and a flashing light to entice them off their couches then where can I plug it in?

Posted by: Paddy Mulligan, Outreach Play Development Officer, PlaySpaces, -1 June 2020, 1-:15

I'm hoping to work with my district council in Gloucestershire to develop a new play space that is founded on similar principles to yours at Creepy Crawlies, Janice. Can you email me on jdouch@waitrose.com to compare notes? Others who have designed and created similar kinds of space would be good to hear from too - especially if you have consciously sought to include disabled children from the outset of the process. It looks likely that I will be writing a short book about places and things that children around the country like to play in/with, and how those ideas impact on the design of our proposed new inclusive playspace. So in due course I'll probably be putting out a call for examples from children and staff in photos, digital camera videos and drawing/writing - so local young people can make some choices from other people's great ideas. Do get in touch if you/children at your playspace might be interested in sending us what they enjoy.

One idea I am looking at is the possibility of the space including some parts that can be accessed unsupervised at any time, and other parts that can be accessed with playworker support at particular times. Anyone else out there doing anything like this?

Philip Douch (author 'It Doesn't Just Happen' and 'Busker's Guide to Inclusion')
Posted by: Philip Douch, freelance trainer/writer, -1 June 2020, 1-:14

We are in the process of designing a commercial outdoor adventure play garden, and following extensive research I would ask how much research into play the manufacturers are doing? How many designers sit in play areas and actually watch children using the equipment, and how often they actually ask children what they want! If they did I am sure the quality of the designs I have received over the last six months...from some of the major "Playground Manufacturers"...would be less sterile, more open ended with opportunities to actually encourage children to think, use their imagination and as a result increase their appeal. I feel that we underestimate what children want, and by mirroring the style of play they have indoors we are compounding a serious problem, discouraging some of the skills we would hope our children to benefit from during their playtime. Can we all think back to when we were young and remember what we rushed home to do after school, den building, mud pies, building dams? Children like to make up their own rules, create their own stage, and then sometimes destroy it when they have finished, and start again. As an ex-teacher the favourite toy was always a blanket and canes, this came out everyday, the slide and climbing frame largely ignored. We have decided to spend the majority of our budget on landscape design, planting and moveable parts. I hope manufacturers begin to use their imaginations, if they want children to use theirs. BIophoia is a term we will be hearing more and more about in the future... a fear of interaction with nature! Let's stop judging what we believe children want, and ask them!
Posted by: JANICE DUNPHY, DIRECTOR, CREEPY CRAWLIES ADVENTURE PLAYSITE, -1 June 2020, 1-:13

I'm sorry a manufacturer could even think this. Of course most children want to be out and about, not in front of a screen. The concept of new technolgy in playgrounds can only be led by profit. My local playground in Highbury Fields, Islington effortlessly combines both manufactured equipment and natural environment. Children can climb the steps to the top of the slide, but many prefer the winding path through bushes. those who arrive by bike can ride through and around the coppiced hazel dell, all safely within the boundary fence.
Instead of competing either/or, let's see playground designs which include both manufactured and natural play spaces.
Posted by: Alan Sutton, policy officer, London Play, -1 June 2020, 1-:08