Interesting Article on Over-Protectiveness and Adventure Playgrounds

tbmadeamistake · March 2014

I want to know what you think of this: https://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/the-strangest-playground-on-earth-214600165.html

I feel like there's a happy medium out there somewhere. The playground mentioned in this article, which includes hammers and loose nails, would be a bit much even for me, and I'm one of the most relaxed parents out there as far as letting my kid learn how to be safe on her own (very little baby proofing in our house, and if we're at a playground she can use whatever she wants if she can manage to get up it). I definitely with the over-protectiveness being counter productive to children who need to learn how to be safe.

It's along the same lines as a Forest School, which I desperately wish they had here, as I would totally send my kids to that. (Preschool/Kindergarden in the wilderness, rain or shine, teach them how to pretend play with what's around, how to build shelters, how to keep warm, etc).

Verstej2 · March 2014

There are a number of schools around my area that have similar playgrounds (more along the lines of the Forest School you are talking about I think than the first one pictured in the article). They tend to have more natural/nature feel to them, using logs as bridges and stuff like that. I absolutely love the idea of them and I hope it catches on more in the future. I grew up on a farm and I suppose it isn't all that different than one of these playgrounds except that it is private. Tons of stuff to explore and get into and lots of dangerous stuff you have to learn how to navigate/use fairly early on. I think it's sad most kids these days don't get to experience that kind of freedom and chance to explore the world and use their imagination with real tools and materials.